I am
taking a course this semester on obesity, and this week’s content is about
dieting versus non-dieting approaches to obesity management. The dieting
approach involves following a prescribed set of rules or guidelines that are
intended to help a person with overweight lose weight. The non-dieting approach
eschews that entire idea and posits that dieting does not work. Rather, it
focuses on body acceptance and taking care of one’s health without the specific
focus of weight loss.
From my
experience working with patients, it is clear that it is difficult to lose
weight. You’d be surprised with how little some of my patients eat in attempts
to lose weight. Sometimes, they lose weight slowly, and usually they regain it
when their strict attempts become unbearable. Some of my patients do lose a
significant amount of weight and are able to maintain their new weight, but
this weight may still be in the overweight or obese category. I can think of
only a handful of patients who were able to lose enough weight to enter the “normal
weight” category.
Healthy
eating is a good idea for someone with overweight or obesity whether or not
weigh loss is the outcome. Benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables extend
to heart health, decreasing diabetes risk, and improving digestive health. Yes,
weight loss might not happen or might not happen to the extent hoped, but I
would advise my patients to take care of themselves by eating healthfully
anyway! There is more to health than body weight.