Be a healthy weight

There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that intentional weight loss (dieting) is not a safe and effective way of supporting your health.¹

Most people who diet to lose weight will regain the weight within five years² and often they will lose motivation to support themselves through eating well and enjoyable physical activity.

There is also the very real risk of mental health problems and disordered eating that comes with restriction and focusing too much on numbers on the scale.³

The good news is that you don’t need to change weight to get health benefits from eating well, moving more, quitting smoking and reducing your alcohol intake.^4,5 Taking action on one of these things at a time is a great start.

¹ Royal Australian College of Physicians (2018) Action to prevent obesity and reduce its impact across the life course- RACP Position Statement on Obesity. Sydney: Royal Australian College of Physicians. Accessed online 24th August 2018 https://www.racp.edu.au/docs/default-source/advocacy-library/racp-obesity-position-statement.pdf

² National Health and Medical Research Council (2013) Clinical practice guidelines for the management of overweight and obesity in adults, adolescents and children in Australia. Melbourne: National Health and Medical Research Council. P.160  Accessed online 24th August 2018 https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/clinical-practice-guidelines-management-overweight-and-obesity

³ https://www.nedc.com.au/eating-disorders/eating-disorders-explained/disordered-eating-and-dieting/ This has the following statement: Dieting is the number one cause of the onset of an eating disorder

⁴ Matheson EM, King DE, Everett CJ. Healthy lifestyle habits and mortality in overweight and obese individuals. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. 2012 Jan 1;25(1):9-15.

⁵ Khaw K-T, Wareham N, Bingham S, Welch A, Luben R, Day N (2008) Combined Impact of Health Behaviours and Mortality in Men and Women: The EPIC-Norfolk Prospective Population Study. PLoS Med 5(1): e12. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0050012

The best way to be a healthy weight is to stop focusing on weight, and instead focus on looking after yourself, eating well and moving more. There will be some times in your life where looking after yourself may mean that you need to focus on reducing stress by getting help with finances, or getting help with raising children. At these times worrying about your weight is an extra burden that you really do not need.

If you have spent a lot of time worrying about your weight in the past it may be a difficult step to take. Especially as many health practitioners still work in a way that focuses on weight, and weight loss. Here are some tools that may be useful:

For personalised advice on how to eat well or be more active, talk to your doctor, health professional or an Accredited Practising Dietitian.

What’s available to help me be a healthy weight?

Below we’ve gathered information from credible organisations to help you, your family and community be a healthy weight.

For other health and wellbeing resources, visit the Health and community workers page.

If you’ve got feedback or suggestions about the resources in this section, please contact us or complete the feedback form.