Many people struggle with their relationship to food and body with and without diagnosed eating disorders.

Are you struggling with your relationship with food or body? These struggles can ultimately lead to an eating disorder or may otherwise be an ongoing source of upset and concern.  The diet industry in the United States is a greater than $70 billion annual industry and yet diets (or any efforts to intentionally lose weight) have a 95% failure rate.  This means that while diets often provide short term gratification in the form of weight loss, 95% of people gain back all the weight lost (and most often more than what was lost) in the 2 + years following the diet.

The diet industry has been incredibly clever at making individuals feel they are to blame for not successfully maintaining weight loss in order to keep people coming back to purchase their products and services.  This allows the diet industry to thrive while those participating in  it are typically left with shame and a deep sense of failure.  Many people then try more and different types of diets, each time thinking this will be the one that will work for them in the long term.  In addition to a significant negative impact on mental health and body image, chronic dieting and the resulting weight cycling significantly affects physical health both short term and long term.  Diets fail people.  People do not fail diets.

You might be thinking, “Isn’t body size a determinant of one’s health?” While today’s popular and medical cultures equate body size to health, there is a deep and increasing depth of research that shows health is about much more than just body size.  In fact, research shows that behaviors are more important to health than body size and that much of the correlations between certain health concerns (i.e., diabetes, heart disease, hypertension) and body size are better explained by the harmful impacts of weight cycling, weight stigma, and the reduced medical care received by those living in larger bodies.

Relationship to Food and Body Image. Many wonder if their relationship to food and body image mean that they or their children have an eating disorder.  MBHA’s psychotherapists and dietitians are expert at providing consultation to best determine if treatment is necessary or would be helpful.  Body image and food concerns that do not meet the criteria for eating disorder diagnoses can still result in significant mental anguish which can be alleviated through therapy and/or nutritional counseling.

Identifying the Root Causes. MBHA’s therapists and dietitians work with their clients to identify the root causes of body image concerns, be they personal, societal, cultural or otherwise and to break the cycle of chronic dieting.  Targeted therapies, and nutritional support can all be useful in helping one find body acceptance and develop a more peaceful relationships with both food and movement.