January 19, 2005
Sacramento, California—January 19, 2005: The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance believes people of all sizes should be free to choose and enjoy a variety of foods to nourish their bodies and better their emotional and physical well-being.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans has a quarter century–long commitment of helping Americans live healthier, longer lives by offering nutritional information based on the soundest scientific evidence. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines, however, depart from this pledge to promote better health for all Americans. Instead, weight loss and weight control are the new priority, along with the promotion of calorie counting and dietary restrictions, the perpetuation of false stereotypes about body size and weight, and defining health and longevity according to body weight. NAAFA objects to these erroneous and unsound messages and cautions consumers and health care professionals about their potentially harmful consequences, in damaging both the physical and emotional health of adults and of our children.
Among the misinformation in these Guidelines is:
• The claim that obesity can be prevented or weight loss achieved simply by reducing calories consumed and increasing calories burned in exercise
• The message that most Americans are overweight or obese because they are consuming too much food
• The declaration that “eating a healthy balance of nutritious foods is not enough for health,” but calories must be counted and food intake restricted and controlled
• The unsound nutritional advice that one should look at the calorie content to determine if a food is “worth eating,” avoid foods with added sugars, and seek foods only low in fat
• The promotion of longer and more intense exercise for greater health benefits, and as a means to control body weight and prevent weight gain
• The statement that a desirable weight must be attained in order to be healthy
By advising “just eat less and exercise more,” these Guidelines are nothing more than a diet masquerading as “healthful” eating. That’s a dangerous mixed message for adults and especially for young people. “Dieting” is defined as any attempt to achieve or maintain lower body weight by intentionally limiting or manipulating the amount or type of food intake and increasing physical activity beyond levels for health. NAAFA strongly discourages participation in weight-loss regimens for any reason other than improving health.
The key message in the 2005 Guidelines will likely have other serious harmful consequences. Teaching young people and adults to externally control their food intake and ignore their natural appetite control sets them up for a lifetime of unhealthy relationships with food. Negative messages to avoid “fattening” foods have been shown to especially overwhelm young people and result in dichotomizing foods as good or bad, fearing food, and avoiding many foods that are essential for good health.
The focus on calorie content above all else ignores the full range of nutrients in all foods and the moderate, commonsense principle that all foods can be part of a healthful lifestyle. It also ignores the pleasurable benefits of foods and their equally important and healthful emotional, social, and cultural value.
The heightened focus on weight will accentuate the fears surrounding looking fat that already burden many young children and adults today. As a result of such concerns, eating disorders, nutritional shortages, and the use of dangerous means to stay unnaturally thin are becoming rampant.
Furthering negative stereotypes of fatness as being the result of overeating and sedentary lifestyles disregards the genetic basis for the diversity in the shapes and sizes of all people—a natural variation that’s unrelated to food intake or activity levels. Such prejudices intensify the already prevalent blame, mistreatment, and discrimination against fat people, socially and in education, employment, and health care.
To date, medical research has demonstrated that a wide range of body weights is equally associated with good health and longevity. Similarly, health risks and the numbers of Americans at either extreme of the weight scale are comparable. Hence, the focus on fatness and weight loss is misguided. Good health and nutrition are accessible to all Americans, regardless of their weight. Rather than advice to control weight that’s been shown to be harmful and ineffective, the most compassionate and prudent public health messages should be weight-blind.
Founded in 1969, the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance is a non-profit human rights organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for fat people. NAAFA works to eliminate discrimination based on body size and provide fat people with the tools for self-empowerment through public education, advocacy, and member support.
On the web: http://www.naafa.org
For more information contact:
Peggy Howell, Public Relations Chairman
National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance
E-mail: naafa_pr@yahoo.com
Phone: (707)246-6116