I love you for acknowledging what many of us know to be true: that people metabolize calories differently, that yo-yo dieting screws up people's metabolisms and causes weight gain in some people, and, most important, that shaming people inspires not healthy behaviors but self-destructive ones.
But don't take my word for it. Read this interview with the University of Alberta's Dr. Arya Sharma yourself.
I love the fact that, as this story from the CBC news points out, Sharma is the chair of obesity research and management at the University of Alberta and is still "no fan of most diets." And I love this quote from Sharma:
We keep hammering home the stereotype of the fat, lazy slobs who are eating fast food all the time who are not moving, not exercising or not taking care of themselves, making poor choices, when there's very little science that actually backs this up.
Thank you, Dr. Sharma, for saying it so plainly, so matter-of-factly, so clearly. I hope someone's listening.
*Photo © CBC.
