No Diet Day to celebrate body image, smart choices
By Elaiza Torralba
May 5, 2009 9:42 p.m.
Jill DeJager, nutrition education coordinator of UCLA Student Development Health Education, said she believes that diets do not work.
DeJager pointed to a recent 2007 study by UCLA psychologists, which aimed to discover whether or not diets are effective in treating obesity, to explain the message behind International No Diet Day.
The study showed that diets are actually consistent predictors of future weight gain, and the message behind today’s event is having an attitude about healthy lifestyles without dieting.
International No Diet Day will be celebrated today throughout campus as a day focusing on healthy living, balanced lifestyles and feeling comfortable with one’s body, DeJager said.
Informational booths, pamphlets and entertainment will be provided at Bruin Plaza to highlight the importance of making smart choices for overall health, and not dieting, she said.
The “Core Qualities” booth will allow individuals to write about personal characteristics they have and admire which do not relate to weight, receive an apple and take the International No Diet Day pledge.
The pledge provides an opportunity for students to vow to listen to their bodies, DeJager said.
In addition, dances will be performed by UCLA’s Ballroom Dance, International Folk Dance and Hawaiian Clubs.
“Dieting works against weight loss efforts, so we should just stop doing it,” she said.
This day provides the entire UCLA community the opportunity to challenge societal messages that contribute to unhealthy relationships with food, eating and body image, said Pam Viele, director of Student Development Health Education.
“The only way to achieve a better body image is by maintaining a healthy lifestyle that is maintainable,” said Brooke Horn, DeJager’s assistant and first-year graduate student in public health.
Sponsored by UCLA’s Eating and Activity Task Force, International No Diet Day has been celebrated at UCLA since 2001, DeJager said.
The task force develops programs, services and activities to promote a healthy lifestyle among students on campus and minimize the main nutrition-related problems on campus including eating disorders, obesity, size prejudice and poor nutrient intake, she said.
DeJager said that restrictive dieting and starvation lead to numerous negative effects, which include decreased metabolism, loss of lean body mass, poor concentration and low energy.
Student Development Health Education decided to adopt International No Diet Day mainly to try to prevent the incidence of eating disorders and disordered eating and promote a positive body image for all.
International No Diet Day was started in 1992 by Mary Evans Young, a British feminist who wanted to fight back against the diet industry, DeJager said.
“If our students never go on a diet, chances are they will not have an imbalanced relationship with food,” DeJager said.
She added that, by listening to their bodies’ cues for hunger and satiety, students would probably not engage in binge eating and compulsive overeating either.
“We hope the UCLA community will take away the message that healthy bodies come in all shapes and sizes,” Viele said.
