天美传媒

Abstract

Obesity has become the most widely publicized public health threat since smoking was indicted for its culpability in lung cancer. Consequently, we have a 60 billion dollar weight loss industry. Despite the money spent and efforts expended on shedding pounds, evidence shows that dieting is not only ineffective but harmful to health in the long run.This research calls for a new paradigm on the war against fat. Findings from a randomized controlled trial comparing health outcomes and eating behaviors in a sample of obese women who participated in a traditional Behavioral Weight Loss (BWL) interventionversus those who took part in an alternative non-diet Health at Every Size(HAES) intervention will be presented. Results suggest that losing weight is not necessary for improving cardiac risk factors. HAES participants significantly improved blood lipidlevels without changes in weight, whereas no concomitant physiological health improvements occurred for BWL participants, despite significant weight loss. Furthermore, individuals participating in BWL did not maintain initials improvements seen in their eating behaviors and quality of lifeat long-term follow-up. Women in the non-diet treatment on the other hand, exhibitedimprovements in eating behaviors and quality of life immediately following the intervention and continued success at long-term follow-up. High rates of recidivism seen in the BWL group in disordered eating were accompanied by significant increases in psychological distress at 24 months. These data demonstrates potential iatrogenic effects of weight loss interventions. The tenets of a weight-neutral approach to working with individuals with a high BMI will be discussed.

Biography

Email: Janell.L.Mensinger@drexel.edu