Kiki Zeldes, web manager extraordinaire of Our Bodies, Ourselves, recently recommended me this article: “Health at Every Size: Toward a New Paradigm of Weight and Health,” which promotes “natural diversity in body shape and size” against the tyranny of diet and exercise.
Two New York Times articles further elucidate this issue:
“Genes Take Charge, and Diets Fall by the Wayside” – by Gina Kolata, May 8, 2007
Excerpt:
There is a reason that fat people cannot stay thin after they diet and that thin people cannot stay fat when they force themselves to gain weight. The body’s metabolism speeds up or slows down to keep weight within a narrow range. Gain weight and the metabolism can as much as double; lose weight and it can slow to half its original speed.
“The Dangers of Yo-Yo Dieting” – by John O’Neil, June 8, 2004
Excerpt:
Losing weight is good, but losing and regaining weight over and over can damage the immune system, according to a new study.