Dieting is all about fads and buzzwords. The latest -- "fat acceptance" -- is a little different, though.More of a social movement than just a buzzword, fat acceptance embraces the concept of health at any size. Proponents say that research shows genetics (not food intake or exercise) determine your natural weight range, so it's more important and effective to focus on an overall healthy lifestyle than the numbers on your scale.
This means listening to hunger cues, exercising for physical and emotional benefits (not simply to drop pounds), and -- most important -- throwing out your scale and embracing your body exactly as it is.
Click here to read more about what's spearheading this revolution.
Fat activists do have research to back their claims: University of California, Davis, researchers reported that while people who followed the "healthy at any size" approach didn't lose weight, their blood pressure and cholesterol levels improved over the course of the study. On the other hand, half of those following low-calorie diets quit within six months, and the other half regained all the weight they lost within two years. In other words, "fat and healthy" isn't an oxymoron. (And yes, the word is fat -- activists make a point of using the term in order to reclaim it.)
Society seems to be ready for a break from nonstop "Be thin!" messages -- studies show that today, fewer Americans are dieting than at any other point in the last two decades. We're also growing far more accepting of fat in other people -- in a 1985 survey of 5,000 people, over half "completely agreed" with the statement, "People who are not overweight look a lot more attractive." Today, only 25 percent completely agree with the same phrase.
Just as vocal as fat acceptance activists, though, are those working against obesity. Last summer, Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut introduced The Obesity Prevention Act to create task forces to battle adult and child obesity, "a medical emergency of hurricane-like proportions." The hurricane he's talking about? The most recent national survey shows that about two thirds of American adults are overweight or obese. So where's the line between "fat and happy" and "unhealthy"?
Tell us: What do you think about fat acceptance -- healthy new outlook, or just an excuse? In becoming more accepting, are we condoning a dangerous health condition?
