Body Diversity

We accept that we can’t choose how tall we’re going to be, the colour of our eyes, or the size of our feet. At the same time, there’s the idea that if we just try hard enough that we change our body weight and shape. The industry that sells this idea is a multi-billion dollar one that sells the message that if we can achieve the ideal we can be happy, “healthy” and successful and all our worries would somehow melt away. Can you imagine a billion-dollar industry that sells us the idea, supplements, lifestyle interventions and even surgery to help us all become a shoe size 4……!

What is body diversity?

Our bodies are intended to be different. Body diversity is a fact, not a major health risk or flaw. In the incredible book ‘Intuitive Eating’ by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, they say, “we come in all shapes and sizes, yet we somehow expect that we should all be “one size fits all”.

When we acknowledge, understand and appreciate this and learn to celebrate body diversity, we can celebrate the fact that humans are living things that come in a diverse range of sizes, not robots. We may also save our precious time, money and energy for matters outside of trying to shape ourselves into something that was never intended for us.

Yes, we may all have different lifestyles, some people may be more active than others, some may be experiencing an eating disorder, some may have access to more nutrient-dense foods, others may rely on food banks. Even with all of these variables, we are still supposed to come in a range of different shapes and sizes, and what’s more, we cannot assume someone’s health status by looking at their physical appearance.

What would happen if we were willing to embrace bodies in all the ways that they arrive, rather than trying to fit them into one idealised size? 

But what about “health”? - Introducing Poodle Science

There’s a big problem at the centre of research on weight and health. The Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH) illustrate this problem using the analogy of ‘poodle science’. If poodles are taken as the epitome of “health” amongst dogs, all other dogs are either too small, big, or overweight in comparison, when in fact the other dogs aren’t poodles at all. They’re chihuahuas, labradors, mastiffs etc. They’re meant to be different sizes and weights. According to poodle standards, the mastiffs should lose weight in order to be “healthier” but a starving mastiff never becomes a poodle. The recommendation for mastiffs to lose weight is based on the false assumption that if all dogs reach poodle weight, all the dogs would have poodle health. Why are we so accepting of different dogs and their diversity of size and shape, but can’t accept that of our own bodies?

No matter how much a mastiff dieted or exercised, it would still never look like or become a poodle. The same goes for humans; even if we all ate the same and exercised the same we would all still have different bodies. It’s far better to recognise and respect the ways in which we are different. How we are treated, having good friends and social support, having access to nourishing food, getting sufficient and restful sleep, having access to appropriate and non-stigmatising health care make a huge difference in our health and longevity for all of us, no matter our body size. 

The Thin-Ideal

The truth is that there is no “wrong” way to have a body. However, it is easy to feel as though your body is “wrong” or not “good enough” when one body image ideal is highlighted as desirable and more favoured than others.

For women, the ideal body type, or the one most glorified, is often slim with a small waist and little body fat, with curves in all the “right” places. A gentle reminder that this hasn’t always been the case however which shows how beauty standards ebb and flow and are socially constructed.

Narrow beauty ideals fail to consider the diversity of other cultures and ethnicities and favour the Eurocentric beauty standards. Internalising these appearance ideals as standards to achieve can be harmful, physically, mentally, and emotionally as these standards are unrealistic for the majority of women and ignore the fact that there is diversity in body ability, gender identity and favour non-disabled, white women.

Internalising such standards can be a trigger for poor body image and could contribute to disordered eating behaviours, mood and anxiety disorders. One of the most powerful ways to counter this is to encourage, highlight, and celebrate body diversity.

Health at Every Size (HAES)

Honouring and celebrating diverse bodies is at the centre of the HAES philosophy, which accepts and respects the inherent diversity of body shapes and sizes and rejects the idealising or pathologising of specific weights (particularly larger bodies). The HAES approach believes respecting body diversity comes without conditions and acknowledges the many possible ways to have a body and understands that no way is better than another. 

Different body shapes and sizes exist and diversity should be celebrated, regardless of what the body is capable of (or not). Understanding that healthy, fit and strong bodies can come in all shapes and sizes is great, however, it is important to recognise that being fit, strong and healthy isn’t a prerequisite for respect. Body diversity comes without conditions. 

Celebrating Body Diversity

Celebrating body diversity begins when we deconstruct our own harmful beliefs and assumptions we hold about weight, size and appearance and explore how to replace them with more empowering, weight-neutral beliefs. An example of this is understanding that you are more than your body and how it looks. Perhaps take some time out to write down a few reasons why you are grateful for your body, that have nothing to do with its appearance. 

Another way to celebrate body diversity is to curate a more body-positive social media feed. Intentionally follow accounts that celebrate body diversity. A study from 2020 found that viewing body diversity images resulted in higher body compassion, body satisfaction, and stronger negative attitudes towards the thin-ideal. Therefore, it is plausible to suggest that interventions that change the sorts of images used in media could not only improve body dissatisfaction, but also reduce weight bias.

Remember, body diversity is a fact, not a mistake. Learning to embrace and celebrate diversity begins with believing your body is worthy of respect exactly as you are.