EATWELL SMALL BITES / WEEK 1
Health at Every Size
When people feel judged about their weight at the doctor's office, it can actually make them feel worse. It might cause problems like high sugar levels and increased stress and anxiety. There is a better way to think about taking care of yourself, and it helps both doctors and patients understand that a person's weight or body size doesn't always show how healthy they are. This idea is called Health at Every Size.
Anyone who wants to be healthier can do it without having to lose weight first. The Health at Every Size idea also tells people to accept their bodies and eat what makes them feel good and healthy. They shouldn't feel like they have to eat less or feel bad about themselves.
People can be healthy no matter how much they weigh
Diabetes and What you
Can Control
Are you wondering how Health at Every Size works with taking care of diabetes? When taking care of diabetes without focusing on weight, the focus is on health instead. It helps us stop thinking that losing weight is the most important thing (which we often can't control). Instead, it tells us to change the things we can control.
Eat more Fiber
Healthy Relationship
with Food
Find Exercise
you Enjoy
Feel Less Stressed
Sleep Better
Studies have shown that taking care of diabetes without solely focusing on weight can really help a person's health.
Questions to Think About
Focusing on being healthy instead of just losing weight can help us understand our bodies and feel better overall. Take a moment to think about these questions. You can write down your answers if you want.
Why do you think weight is important when it comes to overall health?
How would you describe how you feel about your body?
Have you ever felt like others (like family, friends, or doctors) judged you based on your weight?
What does being healthy mean to you?
Do you have specific health goals, like being able to pick up your grandbabies, walking around the block, or carrying groceries up the stairs?
How do you feel about focusing on your personal health goals instead of trying to lose weight?
Weight Neutral Diabetes Care
Some sort of descriptive copy here?
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No. BMI was created a long time ago to look at groups of people, not individuals. It doesn’t help us understand how body fat affects health.
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Yes. About 75 million adults in the U.S. are wrongly categorized by their BMI. When we look at important health data (like blood pressure and sugar levels), we find that nearly half of the people labeled “overweight” are actually healthy. Almost one-third of those labeled “obese” are healthy too, and nearly one-third of people with a “healthy weight” are not healthy!
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No, there is no solid evidence that this is possible. In 2007, a study looked at 31 long-term dieting studies and found that most people could not keep the weight off over time. In fact, about two-thirds of dieters end up gaining back more weight than they lost.
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Yes, they do, but they do not replace medical treatment. Diabetes is a disease that gets worse over time and needs both medical care and a healthy way of living. Good nutrition, medical treatment, exercise, social connections, and regular check-ups are all important for managing diabetes.
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Yes. The common advice about diabetes often focuses on goals, like telling patients to “lose weight” or “drop 10% of their body weight.” This can mistakenly suggest that losing weight will cure diabetes. Many books, websites, news articles, and health campaigns talk about "beating diabetes" but do not focus on the daily support that is needed to manage the disease.
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Yes. Experiencing weight stigma can lead to behaviors that make controlling blood sugar harder. This includes eating more, being less active, feeling anxious, and having higher stress levels.
Principles of Health at Every Size
Conclusion
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