I figured I’d start out today with a quote from Dr. Arya Sharma’s because I think everyone trying to lose weight or help others lose weight should be reading his blog.

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“Public health discussion on preventing obesity that focus on eating less and moving more may do little more than perpetuate the already widespread stereotype that people, who are obese, carry that excess weight simply because they eat too much and don’t exercise enough.

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This is not a ‘healthy’ public discussion to have – as it calls on governments to intensify the ‘blame and shame’ game (adding a punitive touch when it comes to taxing and banning) rather than addressing the real underlying problems, which is that as a society we no longer have time to eat, have jobs that force us into sedentariness, make unhealthy food cheaper than healthy options, build cities that discourage active transportation, and create a latch-key generation of kids that cannot come home to a simple home-cooked meal eaten by the whole family seated at the table (with the television off).”

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I can’t even tell you how much I agree with that a statement.  If you are a fitness professional yourself, you need to think about how this statement relates to your practice and even your thoughts about weight management.

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And speaking about thoughts on weight management (see how I did that little seque there?) my question for all my readers who are fitness professionals is CAN WE HELP PEOPLE THAT WE ARE BIASED AGAINST?

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Despite trying to help people, many of us our equally as guilty of biases against people obesity as the general public (and even obese people themselves).  Today I thought it would be interesting to share a little resource I’ve discovered from the Yale Rudd Center to help you determine how weight bias is impacting YOUR beliefs. 

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You can check it out HERE.

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Simply fill out the ATOP (Attitudes Toward Obese Persons) and BAOP (Beliefs About Obese Persons) questionnaires and use the scoring sheets on the site to see how you did.  If you’ve got time, you can even do some of the other tests on the site.

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I think you might be surprised to find out what your real perceptions are.  I certainly was when I did these tests over two years ago and it changed my entire philosophy towards dealing with obese people for weight loss.  In short, I think helping people with weight loss first starts with the perceptions of those in a position to help.  If you think it is all their fault and are playing the blame game like everyone else, do you think they’re really going to listen?

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Take the tests and let me know how you make out in the comments below.

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As many of you may know, I believe that reading for an hour per day is paramount if you hope to become a leader in any field.  Fitness and nutrition are no different.  Here is something to get you started for today.

Obesity is a Sign, Overeating is a symptom

One thing that drives me absolutely nuts is when some people in the fitness industry talk about obesity. 

“Get them off the scooters”.

“Tell them they just need to eat less”.

Wow…brilliant deduction Sherlock.  Or you could actually investigate the obesity research to determine that obesity (or excess weight in general) is more complex than just eating less and moving more.  If it were as easy as making a simple recommendation, most of North America wouldn’t have a problem would they?

Check out Dr Arya Sharma’s post above and spend some time on his blog.  It just might change the way you think about obesity.  If you work with people who are overweight, this is an absolute must.