At this time of year, the question is inevitable. Can acupuncture help with weight loss?
As a culture, we are obsessed with weight. Magazines, films, and television all tell us that we need to be thin. Slender is what is correct and if you’re not, you’re doing something wrong. If you’re fat, you’re being “bad”. You are unhealthy, maybe lazy, indulgent and possibly out of control. You need to have more self care. These assumptions are so prevalent that they have become factual in our minds.
In truth, each of us have a “set point”. A predetermined weight our body tries to maintain that is largely determined by genetics. This predetermination is why weight that is lost is so easily gained back. Significant weight loss in the long term is biologically impossible. This isn’t saying that someone can be 800 lbs and claim that as their set point, it just means that not everyone is able to slim down to a size 4 and be healthy. A lot of people will carry more weight on them and it’s time to accept THAT as healthy.
Many issues like heart disease and diabetes are thought to be caused by carrying excess weight. If that’s the case, then how do we explain thin people that are suffering from the same health issues? There is a genetic factor if you’re skinny, but if a person is bigger there’s different rules? It can’t be genetics, this person just needs to lose weight. They brought it on themselves! On the flip side, there are bigger people that do not even have these health concerns.
A lot of the health issues that are thought to be caused by being overweight are actually the result of the dieting roller coster that so many people struggle through. It’s called weight cycling - lose weight, gain weight, diet, lose weight. It’s a lot to put a body through and causes chronic inflammation, which in turn makes staying healthy and feeling good nearly impossible.
Emotional stressors also cause inflammation. The stigma around being bigger greatly affects one’s mental health. The prejudice and micro aggressions of society causes constant stress, which releases a lot of cortisol and other hormones into the system. This raises havoc on a person’s wellbeing. A lot of people live their life being marginalized, feeling judged by the preconceptions that people hold about them because they are bigger. It’s assumed they are being “bad” by eating poorly, not exercising, and not caring enough about themselves. Most of the time this isn’t true at all, and these assumptions will keep people from seeking even routine medical care because of the frustration and embarrassment they might have to go through. In our society, it is believed that the choices made in terms of weight determine perceived moralities and the extent good health and respect are deserved.
And now back to the original question in Weight and Medical Myths Part 2, where we answer Does acupuncture help with weight loss?