Exercise bad? Weight loss good?

The Edmonton Journal recently ran a series on the "obesity epidemic", arguing that being fat (or in their words "overweight" and "obese") is linked to how much food one eats and that exercise is less helpful than restricting food intake in "losing weight". Because "losing weight" is what matters. And all that matters.

I am fearful that this messaging underscores the importance of exercise in feeling good about oneself. We know that physical activity plays an important role in mental health (e.g. exercise can be helpful to people with depression, anxiety, and is also helpful in managing stress). And the Journal's focus underscores the idea that we can be healthy at any weight/size.

Unfortunately, weight loss has once again been promoted as a paramount goal versus becoming healthy and/or loving our bodies (at all shapes and sizes).

I believe that physical activity (whether it is yoga, going for walks, riding a bike, playing with one's kids, engaging in sports, or doing whatever else is fun for a person) as well as changing one's focus to body love and acceptance is much more helpful, healthy and realistic than yo yo dieting, feeling body shame, and buying into fat phobic messages that being fat means one is unhealthy.

What would it look like if society was not fat phobic? What if all body shapes and sizes were found beautiful? What if fat people weren't discriminated against, judged as lazy and as lacking self control? What if the diet industry crumbled due to people focusing on feeling good about themselves, at all shapes and sizes?

I have been fat and fit, regularly going to the gym and enjoying my body's strength and ability to run. I have also been thin and unhealthy, physically weak and obsessed with my caloric intake to the point of not enjoying the things that really matter in my life.

I am a therapist and one "goal" many of my clients identify in counselling is "losing weight". At a very young age, people (especially girls) internalize the messaging that fat is ugly, undesirable, and something to be ridiculed. This is contrary to the fact that we all have different genetic dispositions, metabolic rates, and so forth. I look at my own body. When I hit my 30s, it became my mother's body. I used to carry fat on my thighs. Now, similar to my mom, my fat resides on my tummy, no matter how much exercise I do. At times, I have felt embarrassed about this. Other times, I celebrate my womanly body and how it matches the body shapes of the wonderful women in my family.

Health cannot be measured by BMI's. We can be fat and be active, strong and healthy. And when we include psychological health into the "health" equation, I fail to see how body weight and diet obsession is healthy.

I wish that we as a society (and as individuals) would focus on supporting people to feel good about their bodies at all shapes and sizes. That we would stop pathologizes people we deem "overweight" or "obese".

That, my friends, would be truly revolutionary.