Did you know that dieting is the single biggest behavioural risk factor for developing an eating disorder?
At EDV, everyday is No Diet Day. However each year on May 6th, we acknowledge International No Diet Day and encourage others to say ‘no’ to fad diets their harmful impacts.
Did you know?
- It has been reported that more than 55% of Australian girls and 57% boys aged 8 to 9 years are dissatisfied with their body (Daragnova, 2013).
- Weight related teasing in children is associated with disordered eating, weight gain, binge eating, and extreme weight control measures (Golden, Schneider & Wood, 2016).
- Nearly half of Australian women and one third of Australian men are dissatisfied with their body (NEDC, 2017).
- Weight-loss dieting is a risk factor for the development of an eating disorders and dieting frequently precedes the onset of an eating disorder (Butryn & Wadden, 2005).
- Dietary restraint influences binge-eating behaviour (Andres & Saldana, 2014).
- High frequency dieting and early onset of dieting are associated with poorer physical and mental health, more disordered eating, extreme body dissatisfaction, and more frequent general health problems (Tucci et al., 2007).
On top of this, it’s clear that methods promoted by the weight loss industry are rarely successful in helping people to lose weight. The proliferation of messages about the ‘ideal body’ and the ‘dangers of obesity’, and behavioural responses to those messages — including people going on fad diets and engaging in both unhealthy and ineffective weight loss behaviours — is at the core root of this problem. Discrimination faced by people who do not fit in with society’s perception of an ‘ideal’ or even ‘acceptable’ body is known as weight stigma.
At EDV, we are committed to challenging weight stigma in all it’s forms, but particularly in the care of people with eating disorders. People in higher weight bodies are less likely to be diagnosed and treated appropriately for eating disorders, even though they experience mental and physical consequences that are just as serious as those in lower weight bodies.
If you or someone you care about is experiencing weight stigma while seeking or receiving treatment for an eating disorder, please get in touch with us. Our team can help refer you to supportive professionals.
You can help challenge the normalisation of dieting and weight stigma by downloading and sharing our free ‘Body Peace Zone’ poster below.
