Is Fitness Hurting Body Positivity?

We often think of fitness as being a healthy endeavor and it can be, but without care it can create lots of damage as well. Today, physical therapist, Jessica Bento, joins me to discuss what body positivity is and how many of our fitness habits go against this concept. The original idea is that body positivity is simply about everyone should feel comfortable in their body size.

This may make fitness pros nuts because we often believe you aren’t “healthy” if you aren’t training hard and looking the part right? How in the world can a heavier person be healthy? We aren’t suggesting that people can’t make positive habit changes but emphasizing how people look can lead to mental health issues like eating disorders.

Are we just being politically correct, is there anything to actually back this up? Well, here are some good papers…

Weight Misperception, Self-Reported Physical Fitness, Dieting and Some Psychological Variables as Risk Factors for Eating Disorders-HERE

The relationship between media consumption and eating disorders-HERE

A high exercise load is linked to pathological weight control behavior and eating disorders in female fitness instructors-HERE

Check out the audio discussion HERE

Check out nutritionist, Leslie Schiling’s site HERE along with her social media.

You can pick up Intuitive Eating HERE (no affiliate link!)

Check out our video discussion about how we can make body positivity truly a healthy idea below.