How helpful is "War on Obesity?"

After interviewing a number of larger people for my book: Just Tell Her To Stop; Stories of Families Surviving Eating Disorders, I have seen close up and personal how incredibly unhelpful and downright damaging anti-obesity statements can be for people.

I have heard stories of people being shamed for being "overweight" all in the name of intending to help them be healthier. Well, it backfires.

Here is one such short story. A woman I spoke with went to the doctor for a physical and in the process was told, "You need to lose 70 pounds." What happened next was a stress response (as I have learned from my brilliant Registered Dietician friend Michele Gorman) that sent her not to the gym but instead across the street for a doughnut.

What can we do differently as people who are trying to help others to achieve health? I can tell you that from what I have learned, it is not shaming people. There are other behavioral approaches to achieve health and sometimes it may not have anything to do with weight. What a concept.

That is what drew me to collaborate with a small coalition of health care providers to share a new paradigm for healthy body image, eating, fitness and weight. Check out the continuing ed program being held in Minneapolis Jan 16th, 2010: www.movingmountains4health.eventbrite.com


Here is the latest from the Association for Size Diversity & Health:

(PRWEB) December 16, 2009 -- The Association for Size Diversity and Health joins national and international eating disorders organizations in urging school administrators, employers and health policy makers to focus on health rather than weight in all populations.

"We offer as a resource in this shift the principles and science behind Health At Every Size that are available at our website, www.sizediversityandhealth.org,"; ASDAH president Deb Lemire said.

The weight-neutral Health At Every Size (HAES) movement calls for size acceptance, an end to weight discrimination, and lessening of the cultural obsession with weight loss and thinness.

Last week the Academy for Eating Disorders, Binge Eating Disorder Association, Eating Disorders Coalition, International Association for Eating Disorders Professionals and National Eating Disorders Association issued an unprecedented joint press release expressing concern that strategies in the global "war on obesity" fuel weight prejudice and contribute to negative self-esteem, body dissatisfaction and eating-disordered behavior. Their concern aligns with ASDAH's position that weight-focused health messages and practices harm the health of people of all sizes by increasing body shame, eating-disordered behavior, and health care avoidance, and by failing to address the health needs of people of all sizes.

ASDAH is an international organization composed of health professionals, scientists and activist committed to promoting all aspects of health and well-being for all populations. Its basic principles of Health At Every Size (http://www.sizediversityandhealth.org/content.asp?id=76) recognize the multidimensionality of health and well-being and promote balanced eating and enjoyable physical activity, rather than eating or exercise focused on weight loss.

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Source : PRWeb

Moving the Weight Paradigm from Dread and Failure to Balance and Health

Today I am putting finishing touches on my presentation for the January 16th CE course for health care providers. If you are looking for more information on helping your patients with weight issues come and check out this course and get your CE credits!

We hope you will take advantage of this important continuing education opportunity.

This 1-day workshop is approved for 7 CEUs for most healthcare and mental health professionals
Moving the Weight Paradigm from Dread and Failure to Balance and Health - Promoting Healthy Body Image, Eating, Fitness, and Weight
Training healthcare providers, mental health therapists, dietary specialists, educators, administrators, and legislators to respond more effectively to the full spectrum of eating and weight concerns.
For more information, read on, or go to: http://www.movingmountains4health.com
To register, click on this link: http://movingmountains4health.eventbrite.com

Please forward to anyone who might find this of interest.

Date: Saturday, January 16, 2010—9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Lunch Included
Location: Zurah Shrine Center, 2540 Park Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55404
Why attend?

You cannot solve problems using the same thinking that created them. (Albert Einstein)

Whether for appearance or health, worry about weight affects the lives of most people today, and at ever younger ages. Healthcare providers, therapists, dieticians, educators and legislators are increasingly called upon to respond, give advice, or develop policies in regard to weight, even as top health authorities are uncertain about the best way to do so. With eating disorders on the one hand and a rising rate of obesity on the other, it is critical that those in positions of influence and authority understand the complex issues involved to avoid adding to the problem. In turn they must become skilled, confident, and effective in discussing weight in ways that do not inadvertently promote body dissatisfaction or shame, disordered eating, or complacency about eating and fitness. Moving Mountains 4 Health informs and trains professionals in a universal, evidence-based approach that may be used with confidence to promote the attitudes and behaviors needed for positive body image, wholesome lifestyle habits, and healthy weight, regardless of size.

What will you learn?
An effective, evidence-based model for healthy body image, eating, fitness and weight: Hear an overview of the risk factors underlying the full spectrum of body image and weight concerns today. Take away a new model for prevention and intervention and the language to deliver it that is applicable to all ages.

How the STRESS RESPONSE (including worry about weight) contributes to problems, and skills to intervene: Identify how stress relates to appetite, eating, physical activity and hormonal imbalances that contribute to weight problems. Learn evidence-based methods for maintaining balance in the face of stress, versus turning to self-sabotaging behaviors.
Teaching how (versus what) to eat: the feeding relationship and health: Review development and feeding from infancy through adolescence and how worrying about weight distorts the feeding relationship with far-reaching consequences. Learn to teach “Feeding Competency 101.”

Identifying, differentiating and referring eating disorders across the spectrum: Gain tools for effectively identifying disordered eating and eating disorders, as well as communicating with patients and their families about medical care and referral for specialized treatment.
How to use the new paradigm in your practice to support health as a value versus size as a goal: Promotion of health-supporting behaviors and balance versus size or weight is an evidence-based approach that reduces stress, eliminates self-sabotaging efforts, and gives everyone an equal opportunity to succeed.

Who is Moving Mountains 4 Health?
Moving Mountains 4 Health is a coalition of professionals who are passionate about promoting healthy body image, eating, fitness and weight.

Michele Gorman, MS, RD, LD is an award winning dietitian and president of the Minnesota Dietetics Association.
Kathy Kater LICSW is a psychotherapist, author of Healthy Body Image, and a nationally known authority on body image, eating and weight issues.

Katja Rowell MD is a family doctor turned childhood feeding expert.

Becky Henry CPPC is an eating disorders coach, parent and author of an upcoming book for families living with eating disorders.

Want CEU's for learning more about weight issues?

You're Invited...

Training health professionals, educators and administrators to talk effectively with patients, clients, students and their families about weight.
Title: Moving the Weight Paradigm from Dread and Failure to Balance and Health: Promoting Healthy Body Image, Eating, Fitness and Weight
Presenters: Kathy Kater LICSW; Michele Gorman MS RD LD; Becky Henry CPCC; Katja Rowell MD
When: Saturday, January 16; 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Conference Information: MovingMountains4health.com and Registration http://movingmountains4health.eventbrite.com/

Support for those in ED Recovery - EDEN Recovery Skills Tele-Class

If you or your loved one is in recovery and would like a boost to stay on track with all the work you have done - join others on this journey of supportive coaching!

I am now offering a Group Tele-class featuring the EDEN Curriculum 17 week
Recovery Skills Course. The calls are 45 - 60 minutes in length - held Tuesdays, (10-11 am CST). The cost for the 17 weeks including the $20.00 cost of the curriculum, (which I
will mail to each participant, includes postage) is $270.97 which =
$15.90 per week, can be paid to either Becky Henry or Hope Network, Inc. I
also have a paypal account you can use too. If you need to make payments
this can be done in 3 installments of $93.32 each which = $279.96. One
before beginning, the next at 4 weeks and the last at 10 weeks.

Here is the outline of the 17 weeks: (you may join in at any point)


Recovery Perspectives & Planning

Defining Healthy/Picturing Recovery

Metaphors for Recovery

Identity & Goal Setting

Stress Management

Exploring Exercise and Brain Chemistry

Nurturing the Spiritual Side

Boundaries

Images of Eating Disorders & Recovery

Assertiveness

Media Influence

Reaching Our Goals

Barriers & Motivators

Inspiration for Recovery

Limiting Beliefs

Challenging Your Limiting Beliefs

The Journey to Recovery

Sharing NEDA learning

There is so much I learned at the NEDA 09 conference it is hard to know where to begin in sharing all of the information I gathered. So, I'll just share the papers that are on top of the stack of information I gathered, none is necessarily more important than another. It is all urgent, as we need to work quickly to find causes and better treatments for these life altering disorders.

Mainly I gained HOPE. Hope that full recovery is possible for all people affected by eating disorders. I have my Hope glass stone on my desk to remind me every day that it isn't just the name of my business - it is a real concept!

I met researchers from UCSD who are doing research studies that they need volunteers for. That is good news for those of you looking for no cost family therapy for teens with Anorexia Nervosa.

I'll be tweeting about this and their program seeking women recovered from Anorexia or Bulimia Nervosa. You could receive up to $1200 for completing brain imaging scans and assessments.

Give them a call or email: 858-534-8062 or edresearch@ucsd.edu The people at University of California, San Diego Medical Center will answer your questions.

Now back to organizing all of my new contacts that I made. Feel free to contact me - that will free me up to finish the book.

Another Resource for Eating Disorders

Just back from the eWomenNetwork conference in Dallas. Wow, what amazing women I met! So inspiring and hope creating. I made some great connections with women who are making a difference in the lives of those living with eating disorders. Can't wait to share with you the positive outcomes of these new relationships. I know we'll be collaborating to bring more resources to families impacted by eating disorders.

Speaking of resources, I just read on PR web about the Kartini Clinic in Portland, OR. So fun as I just had read about it in Laura Collins book: Eating With Your Anorexic and now I saw this article. Must be something I need to know about and would like to share with you. Here is the link to the article: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/08/prweb2721574.htm
And here is the basic information about Kartini Clinic:
The Kartini Clinic for Disordered Eating in Portland, Oregon was founded in 1998 by Dr. Julie O'Toole in the knowledge that parents don't cause eating disorders and children don't choose to have them. Kartini Clinic serves children and young adults, aged 6 to 22, with all forms of disordered eating. For a free consultation with our intake coordinator, please call 503 249 8851, or visit our web site at kartiniclinic.com.

Do you care about someone with an eating disorder?

If you love, care about or know someone well who is in recovery from an eating disorder you may be feeling helpless, overwhelmed, afraid, upset, and more. There is so little that loved ones can do at times.

This is your gentle summer reminder to take good care of yourself. It may seem selfish and counter intuitive but it is of higher moral ground to practice extreme self care.

Have you made your top 10 list yet? If you don't know what I'm talking about I'll fill you in. When I was at the beginning of learning how to be an effective parent of someone with an eating disorder I had a pastor who gave me one of the best pieces of advice I've ever gotten. She said I needed to no only practice this extreme self care but I needed to make a TOP 10 List of things that fill me up. This seemed so greedy and selfish to me at that point, but I get it now. It's that old oxygen mask theory, if you don't have yours on, you can't care for another.

So, you out there, making sure someone else's needs are being taken care of...it's time. So get out the prettiest paper you have and make a list of things you love to do, that fill you up. And then...do at least one EVERY DAY. Yes, every day. This will fill your cup back up and make you an even better care giver.

It might seem such a small thing to do but it is essential. If you are burned out, you will be of no use to your loved one. They need you, and they need you to be strong. So, do the right thing and go fill yourself up!

Eating disorders can destroy relationships as well as lives - do your part to preserve your sanity and health so that you can actively preserve the relationship. That doesn't mean it is going to be all wine and roses, but you can do your best to show the person in recovery that they are loved. Not an easy task with someone who often thinks they are unloveable.