Health At Every Size News for September/October

PRLog (Press Release) - Sep 09, 2006 -
For IMMEDIATE release!

Health Experts Challenge Damaging Weight Myths

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HAES experts criticize the New England Journal of Medicine
Responses to the New England Journal of Medicine study, published August 24, that claims “overweight” Americans are more likely to die…

“This study proves yet again that so-called ‘overweight’ people live longest, but that if you throw out most of your data you may still be able to reach the government-approved conclusion that they don’t.”
—University of Colorado law professor Paul Campos, author of The Obesity Myth: Why America’s Obsession with Weight Is Hazardous to Your Health

“It’s not surprising to see this backlash. (An earlier report in the Journal of the American Medical Association — which is completely consistent with many previous studies — reported that ‘overweight’ predicted lower mortality risk than ‘normal’ weight.) Fear-mongering about weight is worth billions to industry and consistent with government policy. Few stand to gain from the news that overweight is benign, if not beneficial. That said, it’s still surprising to me that this got through peer review at New England Journal of Medicine: the data in this study actually shows overweight was not associated with increased risk of death. It took a lot of manipulation to get where they ended up!”
— Linda Bacon, PhD, associate nutritionist at University of California at Davis, nutrition professor at City College in San Francisco

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A sample of HAES events in September/October:

SEPTEMBER 1-7

WHO: Linda Bacon, PhD, associate nutritionist at University of California at Davis, nutrition professor at City College in San Francisco, interviewed by Veronica Cook-Euell, host of the Size Matters show
WHAT: Size Matters radio show on “HAES—The New Peace Movement”
WHERE: www.theeuellconsultinggroup.com/listen.asp
CONTACT: www.sizematterstoo.com, veronica@sizematterstoo.com

SEPTEMBER 10

WHO: Jon Robison, PhD, co-editor of journal of Health At Every Size
WHAT: New issue release: Health At Every Size journal
WHERE: www.gurze.com/client/client_pages/newsletterhes.cfm
CONTACT: robisonj@msu.edu

SEPTEMBER 19

WHO: Judith Matz, LCSW
WHAT: HAES in-service training for Niles Township Consortium of 42 agencies, entitled Attitudes Toward Dieting, Food and Weight: Important Considerations for Mental Health Professionals
WHEN: 9:30am
WHERE: Turning Point Behavioral Care, Skokie, Illinois
CONTACT: judithmatz@dietsurvivors.com, www.dietsurvivors.com

SEPTEMBER 28

WHO: Paul Campos, Colorado University-Boulder law professor and author of The Obesity Myth
WHAT: A lecture on why the BMI definitions of “overweight” and “obesity” are unscientific and harmful, and should be abandoned
WHERE: World Nutrition Conference, Barcelona, Spain

OCTOBER 5

WHO: Sandy Schaffer, certified fitness trainer, and Rochelle Rice, MA, certified fitness coach and author of Real Fitness for Real Women
WHAT: Workshop on “Core Success for the Overweight”
WHEN: 1:15pm
WHERE: IDEA Personal Trainer Conference, New York City, New York
CONTACT: Workoutwithsandy@aol.com

The Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH) is an international professional organization composed of individual and organizations members who are committed to the principles of Health At Every Size (HAES). The mission of the Association for Size Diversity and Health  is to promote education, research, and the provision of services which enhance health and well-being, and which are free from weight-based assumptions and weight discrimination.
CONTACT for ASDAH: Claudia Clark, PhD, caclark@bgsu.edu