"One magical night in June of 1998 twenty-nine million Americans went to bed with average figures and woke up fat. They woke up with a presumed increased risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and atherosclerosis and a government prescription for weight loss. Of course, nobody gained a pound. The task force had simply lowered obesity standards, a change which was obviously favorable for private industry."
-Linda Bacon, Ph.D.

I haven’t written a book review since high school. I hope that the fact that I am writing this now will speak to my enthusiasm and passionate encouragement that you run, not walk, to find and read this book. Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth about Your Weight by Linda Bacon, Ph.D. is a remarkable book, perfect for anyone struggling with body image, yo-yo dieting, as well as anyone with an interest in food and weight issues.

Dr. Bacon begins her book by encouraging the reader to stop dieting and instead begin the process of learning to listen to one’s own physical hunger cues. She goes on to explain biological reasons why diets don’t work. Her arguments are well explained, thorough and based in extensive research. Dr. Bacon tells us why our bodies biologically are set up to resist weight loss and promote weight gain. She shares how our biology helps us to stay healthy and that dieting helps convince our bodies even further the importance of putting on the pounds.

We have all heard that being fat is unhealthy. Dr. Bacon reports that there are no studies that actually find this to be true. She tells the reader about the culprits of reporting this false message and those who have gained financial wealth by promoting this idea. Dr. Bacon encourages the reader to be angry with the diet industry, the food industry, the government and all others that promote this principle… rather than being angry with ourselves for failing yet another diet that never had a chance of succeeding!

Dr. Bacon is all too familiar with the diet mentality. While she talks about nutrition in her book, she also warns the reader to proceed with caution. She is aware that some readers may use the nutrition section as a way to continue dieting and obsessing about food. She suggests skipping this chapter when appropriate to support healthy choices by first learning to listen to one’s own physical cues and to enjoy the pleasures of food, before nutritional concerns.

The last sections of the book discuss a study Dr. Bacon and her colleagues performed to demonstrate the Health at Every Size Program she created. Dr. Bacon encourages her readers to learn about mindful eating, paying attention to hunger and satiety cues, applying the hunger scale and how to address emotional eating. In her study, she showed that the Health at Every Size group didn’t lose weight (neither did the diet group) but felt better about themselves, their bodies and enjoyed greater physical activity.

Dr. Bacon has a doctorate in physiology, specializing in weight regulation, as well as graduate degrees in psychology, specializing in eating disorders and body image, and kinesiology, specializing in exercise metabolism. She is currently a nutrition professor in the Biology Department at City College of San Francisco and serves as an associate nutritionist at the University of California, Davis.

I believe that the most important message in Dr. Bacon’s book is that being fat is not bad, nor is it unhealthy. A relatively unheard of belief, Dr. Bacon tackles it well and encourages us to think differently about dieting and health. She challenges discrimination against fat people and encourages size acceptance. On Dr. Bacon’s website (http://www.haescommunity.orgshe shares the philosophy of the "new peace movement: Health at Every Size is based on the simple premise that the best way to improve health is to honor your body. It supports people in adopting health habits for the sake of health and well-being (rather than weight control)." On this website, she encourages all to take a pledge to be part of the Health at Every Size (HAES) community. I took the pledge. I think that after reading her book, you will too.

(The book can be purchased by going on-line at: http://www.lindabacon.org/HAESbook)