Everyone living with obesity has heard well-meaning advice that they simply need to “eat less and move more” to improve their situation. This advice can be helpful, and it’s not necessarily bad advice for all able-bodied people with obesity. It sounds reasonable enough. After all, it’s what we’ve always heard about maintaining a healthy weight. However, it does not actually work that way for everybody. This advice oversimplifies the problem of obesity and can prevent people from receiving effective, individualized support. Here are a few reasons why it does more harm than good:
Regardless of intention, telling someone they just need to eat less and move more blames them for their condition. It frames weight as a matter of personal responsibility, while in reality, many conditions impact our weight. Someone could be doing all the right things while genetics, hormones, chronic illness or disability works against them. They may live in a food desert where fresh produce is not always accessible, or they may find themselves needing to make more affordable food choices. Blaming others for becoming obese creates shame and stigma, which aren’t tools for meaningful change.
A diet with fewer calories is not necessarily a healthier one. If calories are coming from foods that don’t keep the body full or energized, they won’t move the needle in the right direction. We benefit more from watching what we eat and having balance. Reducing added sugar and highly refined carbohydrates makes a major difference for some people. Getting enough protein, fiber, healthy fats and minimally processed carbohydrates keeps you full longer and supports more stable energy. Eating quality foods is a step in the right direction, but it’s still not a be -all, end-all solution.
You can’t know why someone is obese simply by looking at them. What you see is never the full story. Someone may be dealing with medical conditions or medication side effects that impact their metabolism. They could have chronic stress or mental health issues that affect their appetite and motivation levels. Shame about diet and exercise, especially when they have tried and seen no results, can make it especially difficult to keep trying. Compassionate care that addresses the core issues is often more effective than generic advice.
In an ideal world, eating nutrient-dense foods and being physically active would be enough to make everyone healthy. However, we live in a world where individualized clinical care that addresses physical and mental health is more effective for most people with obesity. Every person has a different background and a different body. Rather than viewing obesity as a “calories in, calories out” issue, remember that long-term health comes from addressing all of the core issues that drive obesity.
If eating less and moving more worked for everyone, obesity would impact a much smaller percentage of the population. Rather than rushing to judgment when you see a person with obesity, consider the fact that there’s more to the story. If you are living with obesity, consider this when setting weight loss goals: health, function, energy and quality of life all matter, not just your weight. Even if your journey looks different from someone else’s, it’s just as valid, and change is possible.
