Fall 2006

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Accentuate the Positive

Moving Towards a Holistic Paradigm of Trust with Body Weight

Victoria Pawlowski

It’s perfectly natural for kids to be different sizes and shapes, and the same goes for alternating between growing “up” and “out.” But for an increasing number of children, weight, food and body image issues are growing out of control. In Canada, we have seen a 5% increase in childhood obesity over the past 15 years, pushing up the current rate of children classified as obese to 8%, with 20% considered overweight.

In the old days...

The traditional medical “control” model of weight management has focused on simply balancing energy in (caloric intake) with energy out (exercise). This simplistic model doesn’t take into account the social, psychological and emotional aspects of food, eating and body image. A review of the past 20 years of dieting literature in the Journal of Health Psychology (Feb. 2000) found that, in many cases, dieting leads to weight gain, decreased metabolic rate, decreased immune function, imbalanced hormone levels and increased eating disorders.

Fortunately, an elemental paradigm of “trust” is emerging as a way to assist adults and children to find their own best weight through consistent, positive eating experiences and exercise.

In with the new...

“Positive eating” puts the emphasis on foods that are good for your body, rather than those you “shouldn’t” be eating. It involves eating slowly and consciously to better listen to, and learn about, your body’s signals for hunger and satiety. In the new paradigm, we’re entrusted with our own body wisdom and we commit to good self-care—physically, emotionally and spiritually—to let our weight find its own healthy range. This is an extremely radical act in our culture!

To understand how positive, slow eating can benefit children, try it yourself first. Start by clearing the table of clutter and create a simple, attractive place to eat. A lovely place mat, a nice candle or a flower can add to your visual pleasure and sends a daily message to yourself that eating well is important. Sit down at the table and take a few deep breaths. Notice the food on your plate and take time to enjoy looking at it, noticing the colour, texture and aroma. Take one bite at a time, putting down your utensil between bites. Linger over the taste and texture and enjoy the experience of eating. Continue eating in just this way, paying special attention to the feeling of pleasure. Stop eating when you notice your stomach starts to feel comfortably full.

Practise eating this way for at least one meal a day and notice what effect that has on your eating and your health. You’ll likely be very surprised (and may enjoy reading The Slow Down Diet by Marc David).

Taking it to the kids

Unfortunately, kids are bearing the brunt of the unhealthy lifestyles our cultures have created, so it’s more important than ever to help children become positive and mindful eaters.

We can support that change by honoring the “division of responsibility” in feeding. Essentially, the adults’ job is to provide a safe, structured environment where healthy meals and snacks are regularly available, while the child’s responsibility is to choose how much to eat out of what we have provided. Most eating and weight disturbances result from the crossing of boundaries around these areas of responsibility.

As parents, teachers and caregivers, we can commit to filling our homes and schools with healthy, minimally processed, fresh, local fruits, vegetables and whole grains that do not contain artificial colours, flavour, preservatives, sweeteners or partially hydrogenated fats.

Then we need to create calm, positive eating environments that encourage children to slow down and tune in. A new program called Mindfulness Education for Children (Nancy Fischer 2006) that is currently being tested in some schools, outlines daily practices for quieting the mind, focused listening, soft belly breathing, affirmations and visualizations. These tools and other mindfulness education techniques are currently being used in “Wise Eating” programs for children and adults as a way to help them learn to balance their own body centred wisdom with knowledge about food, nutrition and healthy lifestyles.

Victoria Pawlowski, RD, MEd. is a registered dietitian and nutritional therapist with over 25 years experience working with children and families. Currently Victoria is the regional nutritionist with Capers Community Markets in Vancouver and consulting dietitian with Warren Sheppell Employee Assistance Program.