Can Health and Wellbeing Come in All Shapes and Sizes? Dieting: The Big Con. A Harm Minimisation Program

Abstract

Stress, low self-esteem, mental illness issues and physical debility are recognised outcomes for women striving for an ideal body image (Paxton 2000). However, the prevailing discourse remains that healthy lifestyle relates to specific body size and shape. This message is evident throughout the media, which clearly links healthy people to slim bodies imbued with youth, vitality and good looks. Community health nurses, concerned for women in the community who were deemed overweight by the Body Mass Index scale and engaged in cyclic patterns of dieting, initiated a health promotion program, aimed at challenging such discourse. A multidisciplinary group involving expertise from nursing, nutrition, psychology and community members was established to develop and run a program for women, which focused on body image, healthy lifestyles and eating patterns. This paper discusses the outcomes of these programs, which challenge the argument that body size and shape determines health.