The war on obesity may, ironically, promote unhealthy habits

The failure to view this epidemic and eating disorders as integrated means that we miss valuable opportunities for health promotion

"Another problem arising from our failure to view obesity and eating disorders as an integrated spectrum of food and weight loss problems is the conflicting messages people receive as part of disjointed preventative initiatives. For example, the overly zealous anti-obesity campaign might unintentionally promote excessive weight and shape concern, also providing the individual with a rationale for unhealthy weight loss practices, for example, pseudo-veganism. Who could insist on their child finishing a meal when the child (secretly an aspirant cat-walk model) is claiming diabetes-prevention as the rationale for her ever-decreasing portion sizes and her born-again veganism? An integrated approach to food and weight-loss problems would be better able to address these issues, preventing the iatrogenic effects associated with having separate programmes of prevention."