Weight, What? A Weight-Inclusive Approach to Health

There are many health indicators that should be assessed during a health-related appointment. Weight may be correlated with your individual health, but it definitely is not a clear-cut determinant if you are healthy or unhealthy. Weight can fluctuate due to many natural bodily changes like fluid status, hormone fluctuations, activity levels, sodium intake, and the time of day. Weight can also be impacted by our lifestyle behaviors like physical activity or nutritional intake. However, weight alone would not be used as a primary assessment for someone’s health, and it really should not be used by healthcare professionals as justification for providing unsolicited and even unrelated advice. Other important health indicators that should be assessed and are often more indicative of someone’s health status are blood pressure, diet patterns, biochemical blood labs, sleeping schedules, physical activity levels, and stress management tactics. These are things I like to ask clients in an initial assessment to see where we should start with nutrition education and individualized goals.