1 More Day,... (It's NOT all about the number):

Monday evening I will officially weigh in and start my program.  While committing to 90-day of incorporating 3 healthy habits, I do want to remember that it's not all about a number on the scale.  I will take measurements at the start and end of the 90 days.  I will also weigh in every other week in order to have some sort of gauge on progress.  However, becoming healthier has little to do with the number, and more about the habits.  I want to stress this.  People who are overweight, according to the "charts" are not necessarily more unhealthy than skinny people.  Body Mass Index (BMI) is a very weak predictor of longevity.  The healthy habits are what's more important.   

I was reading a letter in the February 2012 edition of the Monitor on Psychology  yesterday.  The letter was written in response to an article in their December publication on American Psychological Association's (APA's) plans to write treatment guidelines for obesity.  In the letter, the author (Dr. V. Wood) pointed out that the scientific literature "shows that obese people are no different psychologically than so-called "normal-weight" people except insofar as they have symptoms resulting from their being victims of discrimination" (Wood, p. 4).   In that case, Dr. Wood points out, "no psychological measurement is able to differentiate overweight people from, say, African-Americans who've suffered discrimination".  Weight is generally NOT a variable that people can control, whereas healthy habits, such as good nutrition and an active lifestyle ARE (Wood, p. 4).  "...It is pretty common for obese people to be healthy via good habits while more slender people (not to mention the too-thin) can and frequently do have lifestyle-related cancers, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and/or high blood pressure due to poor habits or simply bad genes" (Wood, p. 4).

Does this mean that being obese does not negatively impact health?  Of course not.  Anyone who has carried around a lot of extra pounds and has had the experience of losing the weight will likely be able to testify about the health benefits they have experienced, such as less stress on the joints and being able to walk up a flight of stairs without becoming out of breath.  The point is, the focus needs to be on accepting our bodies the way they are and making healthy lifestyle changes.  If we hyper focus, instead, on the scale number, the chances are good that we are not going to make the sustainable changes that we need to.  Does this mean we should not celebrate victories on the scale?  Absolutely not.  Progress should be recognized and celebrated!  The scale does matter.  Just don't make it all about the number.  

Wood cites the following article from the Nutrition Journal, which I highly recommend reviewing: http://www.nutritionj.com/content/10/1/9   The authors of this article talk about how programs focused on a weigh loss goal, per se, are generally ineffective.  There is a growing trans-disciplinary movement called Health at Every Size (HAES), which challenges the value of promoting weight loss and dieting behavior and argues for a shift in focus to weight-neutral outcomes.  Outcomes of randomized clinical trials are discussed. It appears that focusing on good health, vs. weight loss, is the way to go! Again, it's a must read for those interested in a focus on good health.          

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