International No Diet Day (INDD) is an annual celebration of body acceptance, including fat acceptance and body shape diversity as well as the concept of health at any size. International No Diet Day was started by Mary Evans Young in 1992 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Feminist groups in other countries have started to celebrate International No Diet Day, including the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Australia,

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India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, Sweden, and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Since 1998, both the International Size Acceptance Association (ISAA) and the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

(NOW) have sponsored similar days. ISAA's day is International Size Acceptance Day which is celebrated on 24 April. NOW organized a ''Love Your Body'' campaign, with its annual Love Your Body Day in the fall, which critiques what it defines as "fake images" of the

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion i ...

beauty Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes these objects pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, together with art and taste, is the main subject of aesthetics, o ...

, and diet industries demanding that images of women with diverse body sizes and shapes are used instead. International No Diet Day is observed on May 6, and its symbol is a light blue ribbon.

Goals of the INDD

In celebrating International No Diet Day, participants aim to: * Question the idea of one "right" body shape * Raise awareness of weight discrimination, size bias, and fatphobia * Declare a day free from

diets The Low Countries comprise the coastal Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta region in Western Europe, whose definition usually includes the modern countries of Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. Both Belgium and the Netherlands derived their ...

and obsessions about body weight * Present the facts about the diet industry, emphasizing the inefficacy of commercial diets * Honor the victims of eating disorders and weight-loss surgery * Help end weight discrimination,

sizeism Sizeism or size discrimination is prejudice directed at people based on their size. Discrimination This type of discrimination can take a number of forms, ranging from refusing to hire someone because they are considered to be too short or too ...

, and fatphobia

Criticism

The Institute of Medicine's Committee to Develop Criteria for Evaluating the Outcomes of Approaches to Prevent and Treat Obesity in its book ''Weighing the Options: Criteria for Evaluating Weight Management Programs'' states that "the intractability of obesity" has led to the anti-dieting movement. International No Diet Day is then mentioned and the author's comment:

We agree, of course, that there should be more appreciation and acceptance of diversity in the physical attributes of people, more discouragement of dieting in vain attempts to attain unrealistic physical ideals, and no obsession with weight loss by individuals who are at or near desirable or healthy weights. However, it is inappropriate to argue that obese individuals should simply accept their body weight and not attempt to reduce, particularly if the obesity is increasing their risk for developing other medical problems or diseases.

History

International No Diet Day was created by Mary Evans Young in 1992. Young is the director of the British group "Diet Breakers". After personally experiencing

anorexia nervosa Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gr ...

, she worked to help people appreciate the body they have. Young, a British feminist, developed her understanding both through her own experiences of being

bullied Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an im ...

at school for being

fat In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple est ...

and by speaking with women who attended the management courses she ran. In May 1992, Young introduced the first No Diet Day. Although originally intended to be a UK-based National No Diet Day, Young was inspired to make the holiday an international one. It was a small affair to be celebrated by a dozen women with a picnic in Hyde Park, London. Ages ranged from 21 to 76 and they all wore stickers saying: "''Ditch That Diet"''. It rained, and so Young held the picnic in her home. By 1993, feminists in many more countries were planning on celebrating International No Diet Day. Americans, particularly those in California, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, were concerned that the date clashed with the

Cinco de Mayo Cinco de Mayo ( in Mexico, Spanish for "Fifth of May") is a yearly celebration held on May 5, which commemorates the anniversary of Mexico's victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, led by General Ignacio Zaragoz ...

celebrations in the southern states. For Young, there was no particular significance to 5 May, so she agreed to change the date to May 6, coincidentally, her birthday.

Mainstream

INDD has evolved into No Diet Day, which is still held on May 6 and recommended as a marketing technique for restaurant owners via indulgent treats for their customers. In a similar approach, in a discussion on

social marketing Social marketing is a marketing approach which focuses on influencing behavior with the primary goal of achieving "common good." It utilizes the elements of commercial marketing and applies them to social concepts. However, to see social marke ...

techniques for Australian

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

educators, it was suggested that local campaigns could be tagged onto a national social marketing strategy and the example given was to attach a local Healthy Eating campaign to 'National No-Diet Day'.

References

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External links