MAASTRICHT (ANP) – It is very important that overweight people are approached less negatively, says professor of psychology of eating behavior Anne Roefs on World Obesity Day. But she is also concerned about the potentially harmful effects of lifestyle ideas such as “health at every size” if they lead overweight people to delay trying to lose weight.
‘Health at every size’ means ‘health at every weight’, which means that it is not important how heavy someone is, but whether they live a healthy life, explains Roefs. She emphasizes that discrimination against overweight people can have terrible consequences. “It is known that obese people are less likely to get hired after a job interview and earn less money. People suffer from such stigma.”
But if this change in thinking about overweight and obesity leads people to think that losing weight is not necessary, then it becomes “dangerous”, according to the Maastricht University professor. The idea that it doesn’t matter how much you weigh is not correct, she says. “Obesity is never healthy.” People who are overweight, even if they have healthy blood pressure and no diabetes, have a higher risk of developing a variety of health problems. Healthy in every size is therefore “a myth”, says Roefs.
Healthy lifestyle not only important for overweight people
It is difficult to investigate whether movements such as ‘health at every size’ or ‘body positivity’ (the idea that all bodies are allowed to be there) actually have the harmful influence that Roefs warns against, she explains. “It’s not ethical to say to a group of people, ‘We’re going to expose you to those movements and see if you gain weight.'” Moreover, many factors play a role in the development of overweight, including genes and, of course, social influences such as the food supply.
Care providers in particular, such as general practitioners or dieticians, should continue to point out to people who are overweight that losing weight is important and should also give people proper guidance in this regard, says Roefs. Incidentally, she points out that a healthy lifestyle is not only important for overweight people. Anyone who has a healthy weight and would replace his or her normal diet with, for example, three donuts a day, may not consume very many calories, but is still very unhealthy. “Healthy eating is important for everyone.”
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