An alternative path to health for people of all shapes.

Body Respect is the insider’s guide not just to nutrition and our bodies, but to all that’s misunderstood about them. You may have sensed for a while that conventional health books aren’t getting the story right or are ignoring new understandings of metabolism, disease, exercise, and nutrition. But finding authoritative texts to better learn, implement, and teach what’s new on size and health has been a challenge – until now.

Bacon & Aphramor cover the latest science on size, weight, and diet in clear, lively language rigorously supported by data. In Body Respect, they explore why diets don’t work and alternative paths to better health for people of all shapes. Using peer-reviewed evidence, common sense, and a solid grounding in nutrition science and social justice theory, the authors debunk Obesity Myths and outline the key processes – in our bodies, the sciences, and society – affecting our diet and health as individuals and as a community.

Body insecurity is rampant, and it doesn’t have to be. It’s time to show every body respect. Let’s toss out the discredited nostrums and false assumptions that drive our culture’s shame and distress about weight. This book will be indispensable reading for everyone seeking a clearer, more hopeful alternative.

Explore Body Respect with downloadable excerpts, support materials and more.

Get More Insight
Get More Insight

Find Body Respect wherever books are sold.

Media inquiries and marketing requests, please contact:

Jennifer Canzoneri, BenBella Books, (214) 750-3600 (ext 104), jennifer@benbellabooks.com

To request a review copy for textbook adoption, please send information about your institution and course to Jennifer Canzoneri.

Bulk orders, please contact:

Aida Herrera, Administrative Director
BenBella Books
214-361-7901
aida@benbellabooks.com

Everybody needs to read this book. In equal parts shocking, comforting and inspiring, it is essential reading and a ray of hope in a world of body shaming. This is the tool to build the foundations of a health service based in compassion, respect and better care for both practitioners and their patients.
Amy Godfrey Performance artist , The Biscuit Chronicles
Body Respect is the most holistic look at weight and weight loss I have ever read. The authors review nutrition science, physiology, social and psychological factors. They conclude that the dangers of weight are overstated, and that intentional weight loss is nearly always a bad idea. They make a strong case for each person respecting and making peace with their own body, rather than trying to fit into social norms that have little to do with health. They urge a Health at Every Size approach, focusing on health and quality of life instead of on weight. After reading Body Respect, I am convinced this is the best approach for most people.
David Spero, RN Author of Art of Getting Well and Diabetes: Sugar-coated Crisis
Linda Bacon and Lucy Aphramor have made another important contribution to helping individuals, healthcare professionals and policymakers move away from the damaging and fruitless focus on body size that characterizes so much of today’s health advice. The title says it all. If you want to support optimal well-being, the place to start is with body respect, understanding and appreciating the body for the marvelous creation that it is, and then focusing on the true factors that impact health for everyone, regardless of size.
Marsha Hudnall, MS, RD, CD Program director and Owner, Green Mountain at Fox Run
Weight is a poor proxy for health, and in their extraordinary and thorough book, Bacon and Aphramor bring just the right amounts of science, wisdom and compassion to map a more peaceful, sustainable and equitable road to health. This book will help to alleviate the shame and blame experienced by people who worry about their body size and should be read by every student and professional in the many health-related fields of practice.
Judith Matz, LCSW Psychotherapist and co-author of The Diet Survivors Handbook and Beyond a Shadow of a Diet
This is an important book that should be mandatory reading for every health professional. It provides a compelling argument that issues of body weight, in the name of health, should be reframed to a focus on healthy behaviors, not a number on a scale. The authors do an excellent job of laying out the flaws in the obesity research, including the ‘obesity paradox’. They blow the whistle on the insanity of dieting, which not only is ineffective, it’s one of the quickest ways to assure long-term weight gain, while assaulting the mind and body of the individual.
Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD Co-author of Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works
In a world where positive, uplifting and scientifically grounded messages about weight are sorely lacking—Linda Bacon and Lucy Aphramor have given us a bright light of hope. Body Respect is a must-read book for anyone interested in the complex and timely topic of weight. The authors provide information about food, science, psychology and more that cuts right to the core of why we’re so confused around body fat. This breakthrough book is written with both compassion for the human heart and a sharp eye for what the research is really saying. It’s practical, information rich, easy-to-read, and yet profound in its outlook. Body Respect lives up to its title – it offers deep respect for those of us who are tired of the same old messages about weight and body fat that fail to honor the fullness of our humanity. It’s time for a new approach to weight. Linda Bacon and Lucy Aphramor have given us just that. Bravo.
Marc David, M.A. Founder of the Institute for the Psychology of Eating, and Author of Nourishing Wisdom and The Slow Down Diet
It is profoundly important to address the shortcomings in health discourse, particularly when misinformation is harming the population. Body Respect is a ground-breaking, dogma-busting book that will change how you think about health forever.
Christopher Kennedy Lawford New York Times bestselling author and former UN Goodwill Ambassador for Drug Treatment and Care