October 5, 2020 — A new paper from the Rudd Center reminds us how noxious the weight talk in popular media is right now. Rebecca Puhl and colleagues found that weight stigma during the COVID-19 pandemic is toxic. In young adults, past experience of stigma predict problems in coping now. The risk of binge eating triples. Symptoms of depression […]
December 23, 2019 — The Colorado Board of Education will need to wrap its mind around the unintended consequences of good intentions for nutrition education. This comes from the case of a high school student with body image concerns made worse after a calorie tracking assignment at school. As a result, she wound up with a 10-week stay in […]
July 7, 2018 — For some, jumping on the scales is a daily or weekly ritual. Others haven’t seen a set of scales for years. Some may still be scarred by memories of being weighed in public with results broadcast to all. So, is it helpful to weigh yourself? And if so, how often should you do it? For adults […]
February 11, 2018 — Social media gives power to intense emotions. And if you want to sample intense emotions, tune into a conversation between fat acceptance advocates and Weight Watchers. Well, calling it a conversation is probably inaccurate. It’s more of a one-sided torrent of anger. And it’s all about outreach to teens. Sparked by a Press Release Last […]
December 31, 2017 — It’s here. Diet season is cranking up and the advertisements are bombarding us. Gyms will make the money that sustains them all year with memberships people don’t use. And many people will beat up on themselves when short-term self-help goals fall flat. May we suggest a small dose of self-compassion? The Virtue of Self-Compassion Popular […]
June 12, 2017 — Eating disorders present fitness professionals with a tough challenge. Working out is a good, healthy habit that health professionals encourage. But the line between healthy habits and unhealthy obsessions is very real. The National Eating Disorders Association describes the other side of that line as compulsive exercise. Recognizable But Not Fully Defined Fitness professionals see […]
January 18, 2017 — Popular nutrition advice often holds that careful, healthy food choices pave the ideal path to good health. But sometimes, food choices are not entirely a matter of choice. Consider the case of people with ARFID – avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder. This diagnosis is relatively new. Before the publication of DSM-5 in 2013, these people might just be labeled […]
September 30, 2016 — Here we are at the end of the week that started with the most-watched presidential debate of all time, and people are still talking about a fat shaming wisecrack from Donald Trump. When Trump mentioned a hacker “sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds” Monday night, it seemed like an afterthought. But now, people […]
July 13, 2016 — As public interest in concepts of healthy eating and now “clean eating” has grown, health and nutrition professionals have begun recognize that an obsession with healthy eating can become pathological. In 1997, Stephen Bratman first described orthorexia nervosa in Yoga Journal as a “the health food eating disorder.” Unfortunately, almost 20 years later, experts are still struggling […]
June 30, 2015 — Advocates for people living with eating disorders achieved a Missouri milestone in access to care this week. Some observers are suggesting that it may have implications nationwide. Missouri lawmakers passed a bill that requires health insurers to cover “medically necessary” physical and mental treatment of eating disorders. The legislation passed and was signed into law […]
