Diets don’t work. So why do health providers continue to recommend weight loss?
Let’s face the truth: the mainstream framework of health is rooted in weight bias.
Thanks to Diet Culture, which tells us thin is better than fat, health providers are taught that we can understand someone’s health just by knowing their weight or size.
But larger bodies can be healthy, and a person’s weight is not a true indicator of health. People can be fat and healthy, while others are thin and unhealthy.
Correlation is not causation. Although research shows a relationship between being higher-weight and having various health conditions, there is no good evidence that those conditions are caused by the weight itself. More accurately, the stress of being judged as a larger body can do more harm than the actual weight.
More than 95% of people who lose weight through dieting will gain it back over time and their health and mental health will suffer long-term.
When we set people onto a never-ending quest for weight loss, we’re not actually helping them achieve health. We’re instilling them with eating disorders, disordered eating, and a lifetime of body dissatisfaction. We're perpetuating fatphobia, and actually making health worse.
If we truly care about promoting health, we need to stop shaming people for their weight or size, and take a more holistic, size-inclusive approach to treatment.
It’s not our fault that we were conditioned by a biased system, but it is our responsibility to learn the truth about weight, size and health.
I designed this course to help providers like you, who are ready to spread the anti-diet message.
I want you to have the knowledge and tools to explain to your clients (and colleagues) why health is not predicated on weight loss.
Busting the Diet Culture myths about weight will position you to better support your clients, and promote body acceptance at any size.
With a solid understanding of weight science, you’ll have the confidence to fight fatphobia and dismantle Diet Culture, both inside and outside of clinical settings.
In this course, you will:
Learn why efforts to maintain weight loss typically fail within a few years.
Explore the genetic and environmental factors that contribute to body size.
Dispel Diet Culture myths about weight, size, and health (including the myth that being higher-weight is inherently “unhealthy”).
Gain the knowledge to help your clients/patients reject Diet Culture messaging and pursue authentic health, at any size.
Learn through 4 in-depth video modules, optional text lessons, self-reflection activities, and quizzes at your own pace, from the comfort of your home
BONUSES
As a bonus, you will also receive:
A self-reflection worksheet and journaling prompts to help you uncover biases and process reactions to the material as you go along.
An exclusive downloadable Compassion Meditation to use in your own practice and share with your clients.
Downloadable PDF handout explaining Body Size Myths vs. Facts
Downloadable educational handouts to use in your clinical work and share with your clients/patients
Course completion certification
Priority access to future courses, including Intro to Intuitive Eating (launching Fall 2021)
LIFETIME access to all course content, and FREE access to any future updates to this course!
These materials and resources are the result of years of research, training, and education, summarized into an engaging, easy-to-absorb self-paced course.
Instead of doing hours upon hours of reading and research to catch up on the weight science, you can gain a strong knowledge base in a single afternoon. I’ve done the grunt work for you, so that in less than 90 minutes you can learn everything you need to know to begin challenging Diet Culture in healthcare
I’m Dr. Paula Freedman, a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, educator, and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor dedicated to dismantling Diet Culture and celebrating body diversity.
I write, teach, and consult about disordered eating recovery and rejecting Diet Culture. I’ve been a featured expert in the New York Times, Reebok, and have a regular series in Psychology Today.
Diet Culture harms all of us, but it’s especially harmful for those whose bodies are larger. As someone who lives in a body that isn’t discriminated against (having “thin privilege”), I’m aware that I will never understand what it’s like to experience the world in a higher-weight body. I work to be as strong of an ally as possible, and to introduce providers like you to the anti-diet movement so that you can then continue to learn from others in this space.
As health providers, we have a responsibility to think critically about the things we’ve been taught about weight and health, instead of making assumptions about the people we treat. I’m here to give you the full story about weight and health, so that you can confidently challenge fatphobia and weight stigma in healthcare settings.
Together we can reduce the harm we cause to higher-weight patients. Let’s make health and mental health safer and more welcoming for everybody, across the spectrum of weight and size.
