Health at Every Size - Essay Example

Health Health at Every Size Health at Every size/ Health at any size is a health-centered paradigm that has its main focus on the total health and well-being, and not just weight of the human body. Health at every size works at promoting active living, good eating habits without dieting, and an environment that nurtures to include respect and acceptance for the people who are of all sizes’ i.e. overweight and under weight. Under Medical Ethics, HAES looks at the health of each and every person to be categorized into two folds: Clinical Ethics and Public Health Ethics. In the case of Clinical Ethics, the need to do away with weight-centered paradigm as is the case in the current practices in relation to beneficence and nonmaleficence. In the Public Health Ethics’ context, scrutiny of the values and structures of medical care, recognitions of the remedies to poor health and health inequalities on individuals and families’ advocacy are necessary. The similarities between the Presenter’s illustrations and Medical research findings in accordance to the topic under discussion i. This term “yo-yo dieting” was an invention of Kelly D. Brownell who actually meant the cyclical up-down motion of a yo-yo. His reference was a process where a dieter is at first instances very successful in the pursuit of weight loss but gradually looses the ground in maintaining the loss in a long-term and regains the weight. This process then repeats itself by the dieter trying to lose the regained weight and the cycle continues. As the Presenter passes the point on a yo-yo effect with weight that they may rise/ go up and down depending on one’s discipline on proper nutritious eating, is actually confirmed by other medical research articles (Linda B. and Lucy A., 2011). According to Brownell K. D., et al. (1986), a yo-yo dieting is characterized by extreme food deprivation to ensure good dieting and exercise techniques. This condition leads the dieter to experience loss of both muscle and body fat in the initial weight-lose phase. A body starvation is the experienced after the completion of the diet, leading to subsequent rapid weight gain of body fats which are then changed to muscle ratio. ii. The Presenter is quite right in relation to other research findings on the good methods where it is mentioned that the main idea is not just to focus on the weight from a psychological stand point. Medics under the research and extension have initiated new approaches to wellness and wholeness which focuses on promoting healthy and happy living for all individuals. This new approach, health-centered approach, is a preventive of both weight and eating problems through being compassionate and leaving the restrictive ideologies of weight-centered approach, to promote health in the body, mind and spirit of everyone regardless of the size (Linda B. and Lucy A., 2011). Health at any size is a philosophy that embraces diversity as being a positive feature of human race, and reassures of each and everyone being healthy at their natural sizes. It tries to refute the perception that thin people are healthy whereas large people are unhealthy. According to HAES by Justine J. Reel and Allison R. Stuart (2012), more emphasis are made on the fact that studies describing improved health parameters on weight loss cite healthier behaviors adopted as the most responsible solutions than the weight loss itself. This point is still stressed in the Workplace wellness magazine which stated that a clear focus on effective approaches capable of producing health benefits independently of weight loss may in the final be the most preferred way to ensure improvement of the physical and psychological health of those individuals seeking to cut/ lose their individual weight. iii. Good eating habits/ nutrition practices improve the well-being and self-esteem of people. For instance, the practice of calories restriction deprives people of essential vitamins and minerals, makes body bones to get brittle and teeth to start decaying, skin to get old faster, hair to start changing their color to grey, and a decline in the state of the mind since the brain is not provided with enough nutrients as it may require. It is advisable that people should eat well and eat good food stuffs such as cards, fruits, vegetables but avoid junk foods. With due respect to this, literatures have encouraged the need to learn intuitive eating habits/ attuned eating/ mindful eating so as to help in the monitoring of weight loss, though giving an inconsistent approach as illustrated by the HAES critics (Harriet Brown., 2012). In regards to nutrition, HAES plays a role in sensitizing that food is valued for the nutritional, psychological, sensual, cultural e.t.c, reasons, and that each individual has to make recommended connections between the types of food they eat and how they feel in the short-term and long-term, giving attention to food and mood, concentration, energy level, comfort in eating, fullness, ease of bowel movements, appetite, safety, experienced hunger and any pleasure e.t.c., as principles to guide. iv. Cholesterol is needed in the body because it is an important component of the cell membranes and it is effectively used to process very vital vitamins and hormones in the body. However, it is in an excess form within the body it settles on the inner walls of the blood vessels thus narrowing them and prompting for possible blood clots. Additionally, high blood pressure is known to result when excessive force is exerted by blood onto the walls of the blood vessels. Research findings under nutritional facts have demonstrated that a greater way (as expressed by the Presenter), to lower the cholesterol level in the body is simply by watching the type of fat one eats. Each person’s body is made up of bad and good cholesterol, and the type of fat one thereafter eats plays a bigger role in influencing the nature of balance that exists between the good and bad cholesterol in the body. Solutions set forth medics to assist the victims include eliminating Tran’s fats from the diet we eat, reducing saturated fats, and replacing them with the unsaturated fats to help increase the level of good cholesterol in the body, thereby reducing the bad cholesterol. The differences between the Presenter’s illustrations and Medical research findings in accordance to the topic under discussion i. According to the descriptions given in the medical contexts, dieting means to eat and drink in accordance with a regulated system, with the main aim of losing weight or to be under a controlled medical provision. The presenter stated that dieting is a practice that would most likely cause overweight people more health, as the first point. However, this is seen to be contrary to the medical research findings which illustrate that the main cause of overweight in an energy imbalance between the calories one consumes and the calories being expended. This means that there has been an increase in the intake of energy-rich foods which contain high fat, salt and sugar levels but having very low vitamins, minerals and micronutrients in them. Such findings actually go against the presenter’s perception and explain that dieting helps in reducing or losing the body weight of the overweight/obese. ii. Skip bad food and calorie restrictions. This point is contrary to the Medical truth. When one restricts calories over a significant duration of time, the body begins to adapt to such changes by engaging the stress response factor. Even though one may enjoy the indicated change (lower readings on the scale), this metabolic reaction may be accompanied by a number of other complications i.e. gluconeogenesis. In the event the tissue muscles are broken down into glucose in order to maintain blood sugar levels in the absence of sufficient sugar levels, one actually consumes his/her own lean muscle tissue to ensure steady energy on the body and required level of blood sugar. Over a long period of time, this condition may lead to slow metabolic rate that eventually also results into the development of physiological tendency to hoard fat. The idea of skipping “bad” is not in the support of medical advice, however one is advised to reduce frequent or larger intake. Avoiding of such foods depend on the state of an individual. One may be recommended to take/ eat fatty foods to regain certain nutrients that are not in the body. This however not to mean that they should eat it. Terms i. BMI (Body Mass Index) is a simple index of weight-for-height, applied in the classification of overweight and obesity in adults. It is given by an individual’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of his/her height in meters (kg/m²). ii. Obesity is an abnormal or excessive fat accumulation in the body that may impair an individual’s health. iii. Dieting/ to diet means to eat and drink in accordance with a regulated system, with the main aim of losing weight or controlled medical provision; or, it can also mean to regulate/ prescribe food and drink for the same purposes. iv. Nonmaleficence: which is defined as the requirement one needs to do harm. v. Beneficence: is all about the requirements needed to effect treatments benefits. vi. Cholesterol: this is an important component of the cell membranes that is effectively used to process very vital vitamins and hormones in the body. References Brownell K. D., Greenwood M.R.C., Stellar E., and Shrager E. (1986). "The effects of repeated cycles of weight loss and regain in rats". Physiology & Behavior 38 (4): 459. Stuart A.R. (2012) Is The “Health at Every Size” Approach Useful for Addressing Obesity? J Community Med Health Education 2:e105. The Workplace Wellness Amagazine. Absolute Advantage: Vol 5, Number 3 Harriet Brown. (2012). In ‘Obesity Paradox,’ Thinner May Mean Sicker. New York Edition: Published, 17th September, 2012. Linda B. and Lucy A. (2011). Weight Science: Evaluating the Evidence for Paradigm Shift. Nutrition Journal. Read More