Dieting
Weight Bias in the Health and Fitness Industry
In an industry that strives to help people improve health and fitness, there is still a significant amount of judgment and stigma toward people with obesity.
Read MoreHealth Lessons From the World’s Blue Zones
What can research teach us that supports lessons from people who consistently live longer than average in the world’s Blue Zones?
Read MoreSurprising Types (and Signs) of Eating Disorders in Athletes
“The message we get from the fitness industry is that your body is the problem, and it’s your job to fix it,” says Gillian Goerzen, author of The Elephant in the Gym: Your Body-Positive Guide to Writing Your Own Health and Fitness Story (Winchelsea Media, November 2018) and owner of the Super You Studio. This pressure can be even more pronounced in athletes — and in the fitness professionals who train them. In fact, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, some of the hallmarks of a successful athlete — mental toughness, commitment to training and pursuit of excellence — can easily slide into asceticism, excessive exercise and perfectionism, which are signs of anorexia nervosa.
Read MoreTop Fitness Trend in China and South America
The number-one fitness trend identified in both China and South America is the inclusion of exercise in dietary weight-loss programs, according to ACSM’s
2020 Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends. This could be the fitness industry responding to rising rates of overweight and obesity. In North America, exercise for weight loss has declined as a trend, superseded by health and wellness coaching.
Candy and Obesity: Are More Treats Good for Kids?
Is eating more candy an anti-obesity strategy? That would have Willy Wonka dancing a jig with the Oompa Loompas and the rest of the candy industry.
A controversial study from Louisiana State University published in the peer-reviewed Swedish journal Food & Nutrition Research (2011) showed that kids and adolescents who ate candy were significantly less likely to be overweight or obese.