How often do you think about what you should or shouldn’t eat, or about your body size? For some this may only represent a small percentage of their experience, whereas others describe it as consuming nearly every waking moment of their lives.
Twenty four years ago, Mary Evans Young (a survivor of an eating disorder and bullying), created No Diet Day. Now recognized as International No Diet Day (INDD), May 6 is a date that encourages people to challenge weight prejudices, raise awareness of the ineffectiveness (and risks!) of dieting and to celebrate body size diversity and the health at every size movement.
How will you celebrate INDD? Many people celebrate by eating mindfully and for pleasure, and by engaging in activities that allow them to enjoy their bodies. The Waterloo-Wellington Eating Disorder Coalition is collaborating with local businesses (and universities) to display positive, empowering messages on signs in shop windows and decals in change rooms. Messages include, “Distorted body image comes from a distorted culture”; “Don’t fight your genes, just change your jeans”; and “Your natural weight is your best weight”. Look for the signs this week!
Billions of dollars are spent on the dieting industry yearly. Industry is the key word. Diets are meant to yield profit and despite the research demonstrating the ineffectiveness of dieting many people are currently on a diet. With children and adolescents, dieting and other weight control behaviours increase the risk of physical health concerns, and the development of eating disorders and other mental health issues.1
Why don’t diets work? Dietician, Caroline Valeriote, offers the following facts:
1. Goal weights for many diets may be unrealistic for you. Diets don’t often take into account your genetic structure, your body type, how much time and effort you can afford to devote to managing lifestyle and food style changes and your overall health.
2. Diets that promote unrealistic weight loss goals of greater than two pounds per week means the following:
a. You are eating too few calories and are at risk of becoming deficient in nutrients
b. You may be feeling tired and hungry and have a difficult time concentrating and making decisions
c. The rate at which calories are used (metabolic rate) slows down which is not beneficial to your overall health
3. Diets don’t often promote physical activity which will increase overall muscle tone and overall fitness. Regular physical activity will increase/maintain your metabolic rate.
4. Diets will often eliminate certain foods and food groups found on Canada’s Food Guide. Diets eliminating these foods or food groups creates unbalanced intake and often does not recommend healthy substitutions.
5. Diets usually recommend repetition of several foods. Without variety, the diet will be boring and very difficult to adopt for the long term.
6. Diets likely promote drastic changes to your overall intake. If this is the case, it will be more difficult to follow because you will have to make too many changes.
7. Diets are not usually monitored by a registered dietitian or medical professional.
8. Diets likely recommend very low calorie intake making it very difficult to obtain all the macro and micro nutrients your body needs to be healthy.
9. Diets often recommend special supplements or foods which can be more costly than regular food. Most often supplements are not well researched for their effectiveness and safety. Supplements cannot replace a well-balanced intake.
10. Often a diet will discourage you from thinking positively about yourself. A positive sense of self-worth increases your motivation to take good care of yourself and your body though healthy food choices.
- Caroline Valeriote, RD and Carrie Pollard-Jarrell, MSW RSW
For more information on eating disorders, body dissatisfaction and the problems with dieting, visit: http://nedic.ca/know-facts/statistics