Shifting the Focus from Weight to Wellbeing

A growing body of evidence supports what many health professionals have already discovered: traditional weight focused, “eat less, exercise more” interventions are ineffective for creating sustainable changes in weight or health. Further, the weight-centric approach can be counterproductive and even harmful, as it contributes to disordered eating, weight cycling, weight stigma, and other outcomes that diminish wellbeing and quality of life. This session will provide an up-to-date overview of the recent research on weight and health, introduce the key tenets of an alternative approach, and offer participants concrete ideas for shifting the paradigm from weight to wellbeing in their own circle of influence.

Learning Objectives

• Learn three incorrect and counterproductive assumptions about weight and health that must be corrected in order for health professionals to work effectively with people struggling with weight- and eating-related concerns.
• Define the five key tenets of an alternative approach called Health at Every Size™
• Identify at least three concrete strategies for leading the paradigm shift from weight to wellbeing in their circle of influence