Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, and Just Plain Fail to Understand about Weight

This book was a joy to read. There are so many different diets out there and the diet industry is a multi-billion dollar industry (because we all know diets don't work but we all hope we can be in that 5% success rate). If you're done with diets then this book explains why that's actually the best choice of them all. Very easy to read and reassuring that there is nothing wrong with you, society is perversely behind the times. It's time to enjoy life and enjoy your body now!What I most enjoyed and try to share with others is the seven myths of weight stigma:MYTH 1. Fatness leads to decreased longevity.MYTH 2. BMI is a valuable and accurate health measure.MYTH 3. Fat plays a substantive role in causing disease.MYTH 4. Exercise and dietary restriction are effective weight-loss techniques.MYTH 5. We have evidence that weight loss improves health.MYTH 6. Health is largely determined by health behaviors.MYTH 7. Science is value-free.I did read Bacon’s book HAES and while I did enjoy it, I found Body Respect to be a quicker read and better for mass appeal.There was a very small section on emotional eating in Body Respect. For a book that continues to discuss the importance of mindfulness and deals much more with emotional eating, I highly recommend Women Food and God by Geneen Roth. Roth also talks about being the size that's right for you but does not go as far as Bacon. Good for those who have disordered eating and can’t let go of the idea of dieting.For a book aimed at parents, I recommend Your Child’s Weight by Ellyn Satter. Satter talks about how restrictive diets causes children to gain weight but by allowing your children to enjoy all foods they will end up with a healthy relationship with food and be the weight nature intended them to be.

This book is a HUGE breath of fresh air in world where breathing can feel difficult. The diet culture we have all been raised in would leave many to believe this book is "radical" and "nonsense" simply because it is widely accepted. Guess what? This book is FULL of science: Hard facts, peer reviewed studies, plentiful evidence. It's time to re-examine everything we THINK we know about health. I've had a career in the natural health food industry for 6+ years, so trust me when I say that there is something wrong with how our culture vilify foods, assigns shame to people in larger bodies, and embraces stigma. This book should be required reading for anyone in the medical care world, anyone who is a parent, and honestly- ANYONE who struggles with navigating their relationship with food and self image. Bravo to the authors!

This book is required reading for parents who want to help prevent eating disorders and help their kids recover from an eating disorder. The "war against obesity" has caused countless casualties when it comes to eating disorders, and this book does an excellent job of removing the stigma around weight and sharing important facts about health independent of weight. I am a big fan of "Health at Every Size," and love the new research and added focus on social justice and environmental factors of health in “Body Respect." In addition to improving our own health and that of our families using HAES, we must find ways to influence social systems and government policy in order to build a truly healthy society for everyone. Linda Bacon's work is critically important as we put one foot in front of the other and do our best to overcome the devastating impacts of fatphobia and healthism.

Love this book BUT if you already have HAES, save yourself a few bucks and pass this one by. If you haven't yet been introduced to the concept of Health at Every Size, you COULD start with this one... but I think you'll be better served with Linda Bacon's original book. I wish there had been more original, fresh information in it, but I'm glad there are more avenues towards this info... maybe this one will be able to reach people who are put off by the size or cover of the original.

Separately, Linda Bacon and Lucy Aphramor are terrific; together they are awesome. "Body Respect" brings a new perspective to the conversation about health and weight, addressing issues of cultural and social values as well as personal self care. As a mental health counselor with a thirty year history of working with people who have eating and body image disturbances, I am delighted to have this book as a resource to recommend. Some individuals are reluctant to read books that are too "sciencey" but this volume is a great place to start. As a social worker, I find the focus on social justice to be a powerful antidote to the "personal responsibility" rhetoric usually found in conversations about weight and health. Additionally, Chapter 6, Eating Well, is the simple, straightforward, nonjudgmental explanation of basic nutrition that I have been searching for for years.

Dr. Linda Bacon is one of the most respectful Doctors I will probably meet in life! She is life changing, inspirational, motivational and full of love. She has some inner power that makes us look to ourselves, make peace and love who we are. I am just blessed to have met this Doctor in my life! She changed everything in a way that there is no turning back! Be brave and open yourself to self-love! This is a MUST READ book with her other book Health at Every Size. She and her work is so worth to know! Challenging at the beginning and so peaceful after. I never want lose the sensation I carry now inside me about my body.

Increíble libro, me cambio la vida. Llego en perfecto estado. Recomiendo muchisimo

Ótimo livro e a entrega foi muito rápida.

J'attendais de ce livre un éclairage différent sur les personnes en surpoids, ou le surpoids en général et la façon dont il est perçu. Rien de tout ça dans ce livre. C'est une longue justification sur le fait que, d'après l'auteur, rien ne prouve que le surpoids soit un indicateur de mauvaise santé...

Amazing book; concise and clear. The message is so powerful, and it has improved my day-to-day life and my health. This book is increasingly accepted by medical professionals, and it is backed by solid research. I spent a year working with a HAES-informed dietitian and I am experiencing true freedom and healing from the shame and fear associated with living in a larger body. I have also sustainably improved my eating & exercise habits, and have developed a better relationship with my doctor. The diet-mentality, obesity fearmongering, shame, fear, and self-hatred has never led to any positive health outcomes for me; I needed a dose of Body Respect!

This book is incredibly informative and offers a much needed different perspective on the issue of weight and the size of our bodies. It’s full of science and facts, rather than being self-help. Really interesting stuff.