Many of us too have long been practitioners of many such regimes and have been disappointed every time by the long term in-effectiveness or impracticability of such regimes.

Linda Bacon, Professor of nutrition at the City College of San Francisco and author of ‘Health at Every Size; The Surprising Truth about Your Weight’, writes that weight is a baseless measure for health, and weight loss a counterproductive goal.

The long held belief that obesity leads to disease and early death is wrong, except perhaps in the case of the very obese and there is a general confusion about what really defines such obesity. The standards based on the Body Mass Index (BMI) can only be an indication and not the rule to determine obesity. A 2005 report in the Journal of American Medical of Association, showed that people classified as overweight live longest, with those moderately obese achieving longevity comparable to that of people at “Normal” weights.

Unnecessary focus on even slight obesity leads to food and weight preoccupation, eating disorders and stress that in turn initiates or aggravates ‘Obesity related’ conditions like diabetes and hypertension. The solution? – Dump the weight focus. Dispense with rigorous food rules and calorie restrictions that one cannot easily maintain for long. Tune in to your body’s natural hunger signals and re-learn which foods are satisfying, as nutritional levels vary wildly from one person to the next. Exercise or move in ways that feel good.

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