NAAFA Responds to U.S. Preventative Services Task Force's Recommendation

FOSTER CITY, Calif. - March 21, 2018 - PRLog -- NAAFA, a civil rights organization working for Equality At Every Size, has responded to the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force's invitation for public input regarding their proposed recommendation statement that clinicians offer or refer patients with a BMI at or greater than 30 for intensive multi-behavioral interventions; which it claims can lead to significant improvements in weight status.

NAAFA has grave concerns that a recommendation attempting to change a predominantly heritable trait such as body size/weight is unsustainable and leaves people with feelings of failure resulting in weight cycling, body hatred, food and body insecurity, with potential for the development of eating disorders. We suggest a weight-neutral approach which would allow healthcare professionals and educators to teach clients how to eat, live and flourish physically, mentally and emotionally.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

NAAFA strongly suggests that the final recommendation of the USPSTF be based on weight-neutral principles, as in the Health At Every Size ® (HAES) tenets.

For the full text of NAAFA's comment with study references, go to:

https://www.naafaonline.com/dev2/3-13-18_Comment_to_USPSTF_Recommendation.pdf

Founded in 1969, NAAFA is a non-profit civil rights organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for fat people. NAAFA works to eliminate discrimination based on body size and provide fat people with the tools for self-empowerment through public education, advocacy, and member support.

On the web: http://www.naafa.org