Myth busting: Is weight a true indicator of your health?

Many of the women who approach me for help with emotional eating, desperately want to lose weight. They have been on the diet hamster wheel for years and the battle gets progressively harder for them.

We start to discuss their ‘why’ – what will it change in their life? Often this is very much about how their body image is wrapped up with their self-worth and they cannot bare their shape or weight Their self-judgement is harsh along with the fear of how others judge them for their appearance.

For many women, however shrinking their body size may also be about their health. Or what they may have been told about how their weight is impacting it.

How is your weight classified?

BMI or body mass index is defined as your weight (in kg) divided by your height (in metres) squared. It has been an international standard for obesity measurement since the the 1980s. BMI was first introduced as a quick and simple way to measure the degree of obesity of the general population. A BMI of over 25 is considered ‘overweight’, 30 and above is classified as obese.

We are constantly told about the correlation between a high BMI and greater risk of early mortality and disease. However, there is consistent evidence to indicate this is not necessarily the case.

Is BMI really a good measure of your health?

A 2016 study by researchers at UCLA published in the International Journal of Obesity, assessed the health of 40,420 American adults as measured by six criteria including blood pressure, cholesterol levels and insulin resistance.

The researchers found that 47 percent of people with an overweight BMI and 29 percent of those who were identified with an obese BMI were healthy, for at least 5 least five of the criteria.

However, over 30% of normal weight individuals were found to be unhealthy according to the metrics.

The researchers stated that “Taken alone as an indicator of health, the BMI is misleading.”

They concluded that BMI is one of the least determining factors when it comes to assessing our health though it can be used only as a small part of the overall picture.

There are a number of studies that provide this contradictory information.

What can you do instead to optimise your health?

Has weight-loss been long lasting preoccupation for you? How many times have you lost the weight and then regained it and some more? Has it left you feeling repeatedly like a failure?  Please be assured that you have not failed.

You have been failed by the policy makers, diet culture and the mass media. We know that in the long term (after between one and five years) only 5% of diets actually work.

Isn’t it time for a different approach where you can improve your mental, emotional and physical health with self-compassion?

This time start to focus on eating to nourish your body and mind (rather than restricting it from what it needs).

Focus on sleep, non-punishing movement and emotional resilience.

Devote yourself to shifting your mindset and building a healthy relationship with food and your body.

P.S. Are you stuck in a cycle of emotional eating, bingeing or yo-yo dieting and need to make peace with your body and build a happy relationship with food?

Come and join us in the FOOD FREEDOM COLLECTIVE, Facebook community- a safe place where you can question, share, learn + feel supported without judgement, comparison and shame. I share tips, simple recipe, meal, and snack ideas along with strategies, motivation and supportive practices within the group and its FREE to join!

It’s time to release yourself from the shackles of diet culture + empower yourself to create positive change in your life.