In the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's not just the number of cases and deaths that are increasing. The population is experiencing more concerns related to containment measures and the pandemic: job loss, difficulty paying bills, managing to work from home with children at home, fear of contracting the virus and transmitting it to loved ones and, it seems, weight gain...! Yes, you read that right, the fear of gaining weight is one of the concerns of confined Quebecers.

A legitimate concern in a society where we wrongly associate thinness with happiness and success, where we are overexposed to so-called miracle cures or diets for losing weight via social networks, the health system and even those around us.

Faced with the growing number of publications intended to be humorous about weight gain during confinement, I felt the need to put certain elements into perspective and to share my expertise as a clinical nutritionist working for five years already with clients concerned about weight and/or body image using the Health at every size© approach and intuitive eating.

Assessment of weight concerns in Quebec

Concern about weight has the power to affect your physical, psychological, and even social health, as well as your daily behavior. Many of you are already unknowingly, or even consciously, battling this insidious enemy, which can present itself in other forms: a strong desire to lose weight and/or body dissatisfaction.

In Quebec, the organization Équilibre reports that nearly three-quarters of women want to lose weight regardless of their current weight, and nearly one in five men say they are dissatisfied with their weight. More than half of women in Quebec say they regularly think about their weight, and more than a fifth even say that weight management is their life's work.

Beyond the figures that show us the importance of acting collectively to reduce the impact of weight preoccupation, which can affect everyone regardless of their weight, I would like you to remember this: you are not alone in this situation and professionals can help you free yourself from this mental burden, to use the words of some of my clients.

Diet culture at the root of the problem

Knowing the potentially negative effects of so-called "excess weight" on physical health and its current prevalence, some might view these statistics positively: as a demonstration of the Quebec population's desire to "take charge of their lives."

This implies that individual responsibility, or the so-called willpower, plays a crucial role in the development of "excess weight," as if the responsibility for managing one's weight through healthy lifestyle habits fell solely on each person.

However, the situation is much more complex than it seems. In addition to personal factors such as family environment and childhood eating habits, genetics, dieting history, psychological health, and an overabundance of food in the environment also contribute to weight gain.

The preconceived notion that an individual has direct control over their weight is therefore false. You cannot decide "right now I choose to lose ten pounds" and automatically lose ten pounds within minutes. However, it is by constructing and maintaining this illusion that the diet industry has made a fortune, subtly installing the diet culture that is the origin of today's weight preoccupation.

So, what's the point of improving your lifestyle if you don't worry about your weight?

There's so much more to gain from eating better and moving more than a lighter body, and contrary to popular belief, it's entirely possible to improve your overall health without changing your weight. And to increase the likelihood that your newly established lifestyle habits will stick, you'll want to find motivations that lie deeper within and beyond weight loss or improving your reflection in the mirror.

To achieve this, I often ask my clients who initially consult me ​​to lose weight, if they woke up the next day with their weight goal reached, what would be different in their life? Among the most popular answers are: feeling better about themselves, improving their self-esteem, having better energy, the pride of having done something for themselves or having more confidence in their professional environment. The important thing is to find your own motivation, the one that motivates you above all when life is going too fast, or too slowly like right now, so that you keep these lifestyle habits that you have worked so hard to establish and which bring you so much physical and psychological well-being.

My recommendations for winning this fight

We must fight this fight against weight anxiety together. It will certainly take longer to win than the fight against the virus-that-must-not-be-named, but we will succeed by adhering to the following three guidelines.

First, never comment on weight loss, maintenance, or gain. We are more than just a number on the scale, no matter which one, and the current pandemic situation should help us reset our priorities.

Second, if a loved one tells you about their weight concerns, their desire to lose weight, or their body dissatisfaction, don't offer advice. Simply offer them a listening ear without judgment; it feels better than you think.

Third, promote self-acceptance and self-compassion, stop promoting diets, listen to bodily signals of hunger and satiety, and enjoy eating and moving in order to achieve better physical, psychological, and social health.

Together, we go further!

* Source of statistics: The Équilibre organization (https://equilibre.ca)