Medical Nutrition Matters Summer 2021 Volume 41 No. 1 - The Impact of Non-Diet Interventions in People with Increased BMI: Physiological and Behavioral Health

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Weight stigma is known to promote weight gain through increased cortisol levels and increased caloric consumption following a stigmatizing experience. The author describes the cycle of weight stigma, stress, and weight gain, in a new generative model called the cyclic obesity/weight-based stigma (COBWEBS) model. This COBWEBS model characterizes weight stigma as a vicious cycle in which the stigma itself results in weight gain through increased eating and other behavioral, physiological, and emotional responses which, in turn, potentiate weight gain or difficulty with weight loss. The author suggests that one way to reduce stigma, and therefore break out of the cycle, is to change one's self-perceptions of weight. Health at Every Size® (HAES®, a registered trademark of the Association for Size Diversity and Health) is a movement designed to combat weight stigma, by acknowledging size diversity and rejecting weight-loss as a form of treatment. This paper is a review of HAES and other non-diet interventions, and their impact on weight, physiological outcomes, eating behavior, eating disorder symptomatology, and psychological well-being.

CPEU: 1.0
CPE Level: 2
Performance Indicators: 6.3.9, 8.3.2, 8.3.5

Learning Objectives

1. Discuss the effect of non-diet interventions for overweight or obese individuals on body weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol.
2. Review the effect of non-diet interventions on restraint, hunger, disinhibition, and binge eating episodes.
3. Describe the effect of non-diet interventions on self-esteem and depression.

Publish 2021
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