Fat women who are not fighting their own bodies. For a long time I didn’t know they existed. As a fat woman, the struggle against my obesity was a given fact my entire life.

The Body Positivity Movement is changing that. Working with your body, instead of against it: it’s a new phenomenon for many people. The premise of Body Positivity is that being fat does equate to being unhealthy and the movement teaches you that your value depends on more than just your weight.

I can already hear you think: how can you work on losing weight all your life, but still not be thin? Sometimes I ask myself the same question. By now, the rational part of my brain knows that in my specific case there are several causes that are all connected, some of which are entirely beyond my control.

I became my worst enemy: I attached value judgments to my weight, pulled myself down because I could not lose weight and hid myself as much as possible.

But emotion is the opposite of the ratio. I grew up in a society where being fat is wrong. Ugly, unprofessional, unattractive, inferior and lazy; they are just a few of the descriptions that get thrown at you. Because of bullying, joking comments or forced diets, I have been aware of my excess weight every day of my life. And every day you have to be strong enough to let all that negative energy slide off of you. So I became my own worst enemy: I attached value judgments to my weight, pulled myself down because I could not lose weight and hid myself as much as possible.

Now, for the first time in the Netherlands, actual attention is being given to the so-called Body Positivity movement. Blown over from the US, where it has been gaining an increasing number of followers for years. Plus-size fashion bloggers like Gabi Fresh, Nefferth and Miss Iris are revolutionary in how present themselves: great photos, fantastic outfits and sexy looks. They put themselves in the spotlight in a way that I had never seen fat people, let alone myself: attractive, confident, unashamed.

After I came across these women online and read more about Body Positivity, I wanted to know more about the science of obesity. Liesbeth van Rossum, professor of obesity and stress, spoke last Thursday in Dutch newsprogram Nieuwsuur.

She talked about the ‘setpoint weight’: everyone has a certain weight that your body naturally sets itself at. Dieting unbalances your metabolism, possibly leading to a higher setpoint weight, making you heavier in the long term (the so-called yo-yo effect).

“If weight loss was only possible through willpower, then many more people would succeed.”

Van Rossum states that people with obesity can be healthy and that losing weight is more than just willpower: “If it were only willpower, then many more people would succeed. There is a lot more going on, which is why willpower is not always enough.” In addition to predisposition and genetic disorders, stress, sleep deprivation and medication use can also contribute to obesity.

To me, this is a revolutionary way to look at obesity. I have followed many diets throughout my life. The only result was that I became heavier and started to blame myself more, so I ended up in a very negative spiral that badly affected my self-esteem.

But now I have started to focus on positive sounds: eating healthier and exercising more. Not because I want to lose weight, but because I want to take good care of myself. For me, that is the core message of the Body Positivity movement: be nice to yourself and take care of yourself, because you are worth it.

NB: I speak here from my own experience. There are many factors that can affect a person’s weight, such as physical differences, but also cultural norms and expectations. These differences – in gender, age, ethnic background, etc. – can provide a different experience and a different perspective on this theme. Do you want to share your own story in relation to this theme? You can do that via the WOMEN Inc. stage.

This blog first appeared in Dutch on the site of WOMEN Inc. on February 20th 2018. This is the article translated to English by me.