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Our obsession with BMI as a marker of obesity is outdated and should be scrapped
As the Women and Equalities Committee publishes its inquiry on body image, Caroline Nokes explains what needs to change
12 April 2021 • 4:42pm
Caroline Nokes is chair of the Women and Equalities Committee
Credit: Chris McAndrew
The relaxing of lockdown restrictions means we are able to return to gyms, get our hair cut, and shop for clothes for the first time in three months. For many this will be a positive return to normality, but for millions of people in the UK with concerns about their body image, the long and often isolating lockdown has exacerbated pre-existing anxieties - with devastating consequences.
MPs call for review of dangerous obesity strategy
The Government’s Obesity Strategy has been branded as ‘dangerous’ for people with negative body image by MPs.
The Women and Equalities Committee has warned the strategy could actually trigger eating disorders in the people it is designed to help. It also said the National Child Measurement Programme is ‘likely to cause harm’.
In a new report, the committee is calling for an independent review of the strategy and for the use of the Body Mass Index (BMI) to be scrapped immediately.
Instead it wants a ‘Health at Every Size’ approach to be adopted to prioritises health lifestyle choices over correcting weight.
MPs call for review of ‘dangerous’ weighing of primary school children Fiona Simpson Friday, April 9, 2021
MPs have called for a review of weighing primary school children amid fears it could lead to negative body image and trigger eating disorders.
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BMI ‘triggers or makes eating disorders worse’
The government’s stance on addressing eating disorders and poor body image is “dangerous” and health professionals’ use of the Body Mass Index must be axed now, MPs say.
A report by the Women and Equalities Committee found the coronavirus crisis has had “devastating” repercussions for people who have or are at high risk of eating disorders as well as exacerbating body image anxieties.
Caroline Nokes, the committee’s chair, said BMI has turned into a “justification for weight shaming” and noted body image anxiety will be compounded by gyms and beauty salons reopening their doors on Monday as lockdown eases.