NAAFA challenges the First Lady's "childhood obesity prevention" initiative

The following is a press release issued by the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) on January 29, 2010.

NAAFA Challenges the First Lady

OAKLAND, CA -- First lady Michelle 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 & Tiggermann, 2006; Smolak, Levine, & Schermer, 1999).
• The stigmatization of large children has increased by 40% over the last 30 years (Latner & Stunkard, 2003).
• Many drugs presenting being prescribed to children cause weight gain. There was a 40-fold increase in bipolar 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 Psychiatry, 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 matterwhat 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 Joanna 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

Comments

[Debi Consani]

Great press release! I encourage everyone who reads this to send their own letter to Ms. Obama. Wouldn't it be great for her to get a flood of letters that support children who carry a higher body weight and help change Ms.Obama's campaign to one of body acceptance and healthy opportunities for all children. I know from personal experience that it is virtually impossible to take good care of a body you hate.

[Peggy Elam]

Yes, it would be wonderful if the First Lady altered her campaign to truly promote health and well-being -- and positive body image -- for all children.

Perhaps she needs to hear from children who have experienced increased body shame, bullying, exercise avoidance and eating disordered behavior as a result of "childhood obesity prevention" initiatives. Sadly, she and her advisors don't seem aware of -- or are ignoring -- the research indicating such negative consequences.

[Lynette Foster]

Thank you for this great article. I will continue to use it as a resource.