Celebrate Your Body!!
On August 1st we celebrated a positive body image. We embraced our body just as we asked you to!  If you missed celebrating on the 1st it's not too late! Pledge to do something that makes you feel great about  your body. You can learn more about Body Positive Day by visiting Connie Sobczak's page by clicking here. 

Eating Disorder Education Week activities include the grand opening of Edmonton’s Body Positive Institute.

Body Positive Institute (Canada) is the new not-for-profit organization committed to providing resources and support for healthcare professionals who work in the areas of disordered eating, eating disorders and the promotion of healthy self-esteem and positive body image.

Body Positive furthers the Health At Every Size (HAES) paradigm by ensuring healthcare professionals are supported with the most current educational resources and products, advocating services for patients, and researching innovative and adjunctive therapies.

Dianne Drummond, MSc RD states “with Body Positive, Alberta Health Services staff or independent professionals can access local, national and international resources and products with one cohesive system by visiting www.bodypositive.ca.   Dr. Carol Kostynuk states, “Body Positive” addresses the interface between eating disorders and obesity, and so assists professionals to recognize, diagnose and provide better treatment for patients with eating disorders and other food and weight issues. 

Body Positive’s resources, products, programs and services are now available to all healthcare professionals and are of particular interest to those who understand and use the Health At Every Size (HAES) paradigm.   It is time to say goodbye to the old attitudes about weight loss, and support the pursuit of improved health and self esteem independent of the scale.

News Conference
11:00 AM, Thursday, February 4th 2010
@ LeMarchand Mansion Main Lobby
11523 100 Avenue, Edmonton
 

WHEREAS, stemming from a distorted body image and a diminished sense of self-worth, eating disorders affect women and men of all ages, and can lead to severe health complications or death;

AND WHEREAS, it is important to nurture a positive self-image based on inner beauty rather than physical appearance and societal expectations;

AND WHEREAS, raising awareness about the causes and symptoms of eating disorders can greatly assist in their early detection, prevention and treatment;

AND WHEREAS, promoting a healthy, active lifestyle is beneficial to all Edmontonians;

AND WHEREAS, the Body Positive Institute is a local non-profit charitable organization devoted to raising public awareness of eating disorders and helping individuals and families afflicted with them;

THEREFORE I, MAYOR STEPHEN MANDEL, DO HEREBY PROCLAIM FEBRUARY 1ST TO 7TH, 2010 AS “EATING DISORDER EDUCATION WEEK” IN EDMONTON, ALBERTA’S CAPITAL CITY.

Dated this 20th day of January, 2010

_________________________________
Mayor of the City of Edmonton
 

For Immediate Release January 29, 2010

Oakland, CA – First Lady Michele Obama has recently announced her intention to
focus on childhood obesity prevention. NAAFA encourages the First Lady to
consider all the research before taking action and supporting any program that
may do more harm than good.

Mrs. Obama, please explore and consider the following:

• When important figures such as parents, teachers and peers in children's social environment endorse a preference for thinness and place an importance on weight control, this can contribute to body dissatisfaction, dieting, low self-esteem and weight bias among children and adolescents (Davison & Birch, 2001; Davison & Birch, 2004; Dohnt & Tiggemann, 2006; Smolak, Levine, & Schermer, 1999).
• The stigmatization of large children has increased by 40% over the last 30 years (Latner & Stunkard, 2003).
• Many drugs presently being prescribed to children cause weight gain. There was a 40 fold increase in bi-polar diagnoses in children between 1994 and 2003. 90.6% of youth received a psychotropic medication during bipolar disorder visits. For many, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and antidepressants were also prescribed. (Arch Gen Psychiatr,. 2007)
• Prescribing dieting is, in effect, prescribing weight cycling, and many people will be fatter in the long run (Mann, 2007).
• Weight-control practices among young people reliably predict greater weight gain, regardless of baseline weight, than that of adolescents who do not engage in such practices (Neumark-Sztainer et al., 2006).
• Based on results from a population-based, longitudinal study with 2,500 teens, Neumark-Sztainer and colleagues at the University of Minnesota (2006) concluded that to prevent obesity and eating disorders, the focus needs to be on health much more than weight. The more weight per se is talked about, the more likely teens are to adopt dangerous dieting behaviors.
• A 2006 study from UCLA suggests our media and cultural obsession with achieving a certain weight does little or no good and may actually undermine motivation to adopt exercise and other healthy lifestyle habits.
• The National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated in 2008 that childhood obesity has leveled off.

NAAFA urges the First Lady to:

• Partner with us and our many resources in the scientific and healthcare communities to examine this issue. Fat children are already the targets of merciless bullying. NAAFA urges Mrs. Obama not to support any programs that would create a pervasive bias against fat children.
• Consider Guidelines for Childhood Obesity Prevention Programs found at:

http://www.aedweb.org/media/Guidelines.cfm Childhood School Plans at
http://www.healthyweight.net/schools.htm and Guidelines for Children at
http://www.healthyweight.net/children.htm

• Support the Health at Every Size (HAES) tenets which state that healthy habits are good for EVERYONE, no matter what their size. Eat healthy, nutritious foods and enjoy occasional treats. Pay attention to your natural hunger and satiety cues. Move your body in ways that feel good rather than exercise focused solely on weight loss.

"Obesity has a strong genetic component that is expressed in environments that foster sedentary activity and eating an energy dense diet", stated Joanne Ikeda, Nutritionist Emeritus, University of California Berkeley, "Therefore, we encourage First Lady Michelle Obama to promote environmental changes in school settings that support enjoyable physical activity and consumption of a wide variety of nutritious, appetizing foods."

This issue is about the critical need to create environments in which children and adolescents do not feel shame or guilt about their bodies but, rather, are motivated to enjoy healthful eating and active living habits regardless of their body size or shape.

Founded in 1969, NAAFA is a non-profit human rights organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for fat people. NAAFA works to eliminate discrimination based on body size and provide fat people with the tools for self-empowerment through public education, advocacy, and member support.

On the web:
http://www.naafa.org

For more information contact:
Peggy Howell, Public Relations Director, NAAFA
email: naafa_pr@yahoo. com