NAAFA’s First Health At Every Size (HAES) Summit – A Success!!

Aug. 17, 2010 - PRLog -- Oakland, CA – NAAFA convened its historic first Health At Every Size (HAES) Summit on Monday, August 9, 2010 in Millbrae, CA. Professionals from various health related fields attended representing nutrition, exercise physiology, mental health, fitness, and public health.  Participants were from more than 10 different organizations and academic institutions and included individuals from Australia, Canada, Japan and Germany as well as the U.S.

The Summit’s keynote speaker Dr. Glenn Gaesser, Arizona State University Professor and Director of the University’s Healthy Lifestyles Research Center and their Exercise and Wellness Program kicked off the Summit by presenting a solid scientific foundation for the Obesity Paradox.  Dr. Gaesser dispelled the myths about the “Obesity Epidemic” and addressed the biased approach to obesity research.  He stressed the growing evidence that health and fitness levels are not and should not be linked to body size. These findings were confirmed by both public health researchers Lily O’Hara from Australia and Friedrich Schrob from Germany.

Drs. Deb Burgard, Esther Rothblum and Linda Bacon spoke about the misalignment of media headlines to actual data as well as the challenges and solutions for navigating a ‘sized biased system’. Joanne Ikeda, retired faculty member from UC Berkeley’s Nutritional Sciences Department shared her insider’s view into the nutrition and dietician community. She is a major contributor to NAAFA’s Child Advocacy Toolkit, which was launched a few days earlier at the 2010 NAAFA Convention.

NAAFA’s first HAES Scholar, PsyD. candidate Jenny Copeland, joined us as a summit speaker and presented a poster of her research during the evening Poster Session. She received a $1000 scholarship check from NAAFA during the Summit.

NAAFA Advisory Board Member and session moderator Dr. Barbara Bruno introduced NAAFA’s revised Guidelines for the Therapists Who Treat Fat Clients.  The brochure revision was co-authored by Dr. Bruno and Dr. Deb Burgard.

“NAAFA is incredibly pleased with the outcome of the Summit,” stated NAAFA Board Member and Summit Co-chair Lisa Tealer.  “Our objectives and expectations were exceeded. This historic summit is only the beginning and sets the scientific foundation for NAAFA to move the HAES agenda forward and to continue to integrate it into our strategic plan to eradicate size discrimination.”

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 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
Email:  naafa_pr@yahoo.com  Phone:  707-246-6116

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Founded in 1969, NAAFA is a non-profit civil rights organization dedicated to ending size discrimination. Our goal is for people of size to be accepted with dignity and equality and will pursue this goal through advocacy, public education, and support.