For Immediate Release
January 24, 2011

Oakland, CA – A new paper just published in Nutrition Journal cites overwhelming
evidence that focusing on weight loss as the only route to achieve a healthy
life style is ineffective and harmful.

Co-authors Linda Bacon, an associate nutritionist at the University of
California, Davis Department of Nutrition, and Lucy Aphramor, an NHS specialist
dietician and honorary research fellow at the Applied Research Centre in Health
and Lifestyle Interventions at Coventry University, England cite evidence from
almost two hundred studies and come to surprising conclusions; a weight loss
centered approach is not only ineffective in terms of health and weight
outcomes, but also harmful.

Their analysis indicates that researchers have long interpreted research data
through a fat biased lens, and when this bias is removed, it overwhelmingly
shows that fat has been highly exaggerated as a risk for disease or decreased
longevity, and does not support conventional ideas that:

-- weight loss will prolong life;
-- anyone can lose weight and keep it off through diet and exercise;
-- weight loss is a practical and positive goal;
-- weight loss is the only way overweight and obese people can improve their
health;
-- obesity places an economic burden on society.

"The weight-focused approach does not, in the long run, produce thinner,
healthier bodies," said Bacon, who wrote the 2010 book, Health at Every Size:
The Surprising Truth About Your Weight, based on research she published in top
scientific journals.

"For decades, the United States' public health establishment and $58.6
billion-a-year private weight-loss industry have focused on health improvement
through weight loss," Bacon said. "The result is unprecedented levels of body
dissatisfaction and failure in achieving desired health outcomes. It's time to
consider a more evidence-based approach."


NAAFA applauds these scientists and encourages others to challenge the "weight
loss is the only solution" paradigm. Health At Every Size is possible.

Bacon and Aphramor suggest that the health care community adopt a more ethical,
evidence-based approach toward public health nutrition --one that instead
encourages individuals to concentrate on developing healthy habits rather than
concentrating on weight management. While weight loss may result, the goal is
self-care as opposed to weight loss. This weight-neutral practice has become
known as Health at Every Size.

The full article may be found in Nutrition Journal at:
http://www.nutritionj.com/content/10/1/9


Founded in 1969, NAAFA is a non-profit civil 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 Director, NAAFA
email: naafa_pr@...