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Has the connection between body size and overall health been overstated for decades? This book examines how our dogged efforts to eradicate obesity may be doing more harm than good and explores alternative ways to measure and encourage health.It's fair to say that Americans are obsessed with body size and weight-whether it's in the name of health and disease prevention or the idealization of unrealistically thin proportions. But trying to lose weight and drop clothing sizes is healthy, right? Or is it
not healthy, in many cases?
In this book, the latest in Greenwood's
Health and Medical Issues Today series, Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Certified Sport Psychology Consultant Christine L. B. Selby, PhD, examines the often confusing information-and misinformation-that exists on obesity and its connection to overall health. She provides a broad examination of this timely topic, addressing the rate of obesity in the United States, questioning the appropriateness of BMI to gauge overall health and well-being, discussing controversies related to weight and health including excessive dieting, and providing real-world scenarios that clearly illustrate major concepts related to weight and health. The book also summarizes a relatively new and still controversial approach to improving well-being that takes the focus off the number on the scale. But can individuals really be happy and healthy at any size
List of contents
Series ForewordPrefaceAcknowledgmentsPart I: Overview of the Body Size and Health Debate1 Changing Shape of the Ideal Body throughout the 20th Century
2 Health and Body Mass Index (BMI)
3 Rates of Obesity and Targeted Prevention Efforts
4 Consequences of How Overweight and Obese Are Treated and Viewed by Society
5 Health at Every Size®
Part II: Controversies and Issues6 Body Image and Happiness: Should We Be Focused on Body Shape and Size?
7 Can Overweight or Obese Bodies Really Be Healthy?
8 Is Personal Choice a Relevant Argument for Body Size?
9 Applications of Health at Every Size®
Part III: ScenariosCase Illustrations
GlossaryTimelineSources for Further InformationBibliographyIndexAbout the Author
About the author
Christine L. B. Selby, PhD, is a staff psychologist at the Center for Counseling and Psychological Health at the University of Massachusetts–Amherst, USA. She also maintains a part-time private practice as a licensed counseling and sport psychologist.
