Weight of the Notion

On May 7th, while still basking in the afterglow of International No Diet Day, The New York Times published a series of opinion pieces called Women, Weight, and Wellness that stirred up a great deal of discussion, debate, and commentary on the topic of…well…women, weight, and wellness!  (Imagine that?!)  Seeing size acceptance and HAES points [...]

Exhorting Obese People to Eat Less and Exercise More Doesn’t Work

In Gary Taubes’ article “The New Obesity Campaigns Have it All Wrong” in the May 14, 2012 issue of Newsweek, he points out some refreshing facts that help shed light on our country’s obsession with thinking that obesity is caused from “gluttony and sloth” or an imbalance of energy / food intake.  He cites Hilda [...]

Perfection Does Not Exist

So many people, eating disordered or not, are just so engrossed with the topic of perfection and imperfection. It can really become an obsession, whether it’s body image related, beauty related, achievement related, or beyond. There are so many things you can find to become obsessed about where flaws are concerned… but it takes away [...]

Does my child have an eating disorder? What role does denial play in accepting the fact?

Eating Disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Yet, regularly those of us working to bring health and hope to families impacted by these deadly illnesses hear statements like these from parents and doctors: “She/he is at a ‘normal’ weight so we don’t need to pull her/him out of college.” “He/she HAS [...]

Today Show’s Comments about Jessica Simpson: “She’s Pretty Fat”

This guest post graciously submitted by Sarah Biskobing, RD.  It seems as though once again, Jessica Simpson is under the microscope when it comes to her weight. This time, she is being criticized for being too heavy while being pregnant. Apparently, Jessica has gained around 40 pounds so far during her pregnancy. Dr. Nancy Snyderman [...]

Constant Comments

 I am not clear how this came about…but about…it certainly came. There seems to be an unspoken rule that it is perfectly okay for people to comment on other people’s bodies. And I am not referring just to the behind the back conspiratorial comments frequently accompanied by a wink wink nudge nudge to a nearby [...]

Cheering on Your Own Greatness

So many people hate themselves. So many people spend hours picking at themselves, looking for things that aren’t up to par, things that are “wrong” or “bad.” It’s a sad way to live, but what’s sadder is that it’s so common. You’ve probably heard the saying “You are your own worst critic” before, but let [...]

Vogue has gone too far!

In the April issue of Vogue magazine there’s an article written by a young girl’s mother, Dara Lynn Weiss, who forces her daughter, Bea to submit to a lifestyle that is restrictive, rigid, punitive and humiliating in the pursuit of weight-loss. There are many articles, bloggers, and Facebook postings that chastised Dara-Lynn. I have to admit, I had a [...]

What is a normal curve anyway?

Statistics was almost my downfall in graduate school, however there was once concept that I was able to integrate into my general knowledge in a meaningful way: the normal curve. This normal curve represents the distribution of values, frequencies, or probabilities of a set of data. It slopes downward on either side of a highest [...]

Eating Disorder Parity: What people don’t get about Binge Eating Disorder and the “war on obesity”

With the 2013 revision of the DSM right around the corner there will be a need to rethink, both at the professional and public level, how we conceive of the “war on obesity” and the way in which both health care providers and lay people talk about food and weight. As some of you may [...]

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