My current clients all know that despite being a teacher and proponent of mindful eating and someone who is against treating fat people as though they are second class citizens, I am also not a big fan of the “intuitive eating” crowd. I have posted about this on my Instagram page and have discussed it in previous newsletters. I feel that the intuitive eating community green-lights the idea that people can eat anything and be healthy as a result. I do not hold this view. I believe that at best, all we can do is be mindful of all the factors that influence our hunger and fullness cues, and lead with compassion but be mindful of the science and not lead by ideology. The research shows that time and again, foods high in salt, refined fats, and refined sugars are what drive food cravings and over eating. There is no study at all that shows that anyone has any sort of “intuition” to eat a given food because their body’s are being driven by cravings for one vitamin/mineral or another. If this was the case, we wouldn’t have anyone struggling with nutrient deficiencies. Instead we have people eating an excess of calories and not getting enough vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and fiber. This I have discussed before.
Today we are going to discuss some new research that debunks a term often cited by intuitive eating practitioners-the obesity paradox.
This isn’t a new debunk, but people love hearing good news about their bad habits. Check out this link by Dr Michael Greger discussing previous research debunking the obesity paradox-the idea that being overweight is somehow protective. This misunderstanding is spreading and now even the National Eating Disorders Association is puppeting it, sadly
A new study looking at data from over 17,000 individuals puts the idea of the obesity paradox to rest. A quote from the university article:
“He discovered that a full 20% of the sample characterized as “healthy” weight had been in the overweight or obese category in the decade prior. When set apart, this group had a substantially worse health profile than those in the category whose weight had been stable. Masters pointed out that a lifetime carrying excess weight can lead to illnesses that, paradoxically, lead to rapid weight loss. If BMI data is captured during this time, it can skew study results. “I would argue that we have been artificially inflating the mortality risk in the low-BMI category by including those who had been high BMI and had just lost weight recently,” he said. Meanwhile, 37% of those characterized as overweight and 60% of those with obese BMI had been at lower BMIs in the decade prior. Notably, those who had only recently gained weight had better health profiles. “The health and mortality consequences of high BMI are not like a light switch,” said Masters. “There’s an expanding body of work suggesting that the consequences are duration-dependent.” By including people who had spent most of their life at low-BMI weight in the high-BMI categories, previous studies have inadvertently made high BMI look less risky than it is, he said.”
This is just saying that the impacts of obesity on health take time and those who spend the most time of their lives in the obese state, will have the greatest risk and that studies often deflate the risk due to individuals with a high BMI but who also have a low fat mass, such as resistance athletes and athletes in general. So, no, there is no protective effect by being overweight or obese.
Check out the university articles here and the actual study here.
Check out my blog post The Myth of Locally Raised Animal Foods to learn more about why what foods we choose to eat is far more important than where in the world the food came from when it comes to the climate change and over all environmental impacts of the food you eat.
Also! Check out my Instagram page for inspirational messages, scientific articles, photos of what I’ve been up to, and more! @feedyourbodyandmindllc
Did you know that I’m on Insight Timer? I have three mindfulness meditations to help you develop your practice. Give them a try!
If you are an athlete considering supplements to increase recovery and endurance then check out my blog post on Evidenced Based Supplements for Training Like and Athlete.
