Moving Beyond BMI: Does a Focus on Childhood Obesity Help or Harm Our Children?

1. The use of compassion in the
treatment of obesity
Dr. Dayna Lee-Baggley
Behaviour Change Institute
Nova Scotia Health Authority
Dalhousie University

2. Shame based interventions

3. Shame based interventions

4. Shame based interventions
• BMI report card for kids
• 25% of states in the US
• “I don’t think that it’s the role of
the school to be the schoolyard
bully… ” says Dr. Yoni Freedhoff.
Source: Vogel (2011)

5. Shame based interventions
• Shame based interventions rarely work
• Why?

6. Self-compassion
• The “antidote” for shame.
• What is self-compassion:
• Self kindness: treat oneself gently when
encountering failures.
• Common humanity: recognize failures are part of
human nature.
• Mindfulness: take a nonjudgemental and present
perspective.
• Skill that can be strengthened.
Source: Neff (2003)

7. Self-compassion is not
• Self pity: immersed in their own problems and
forget that others have similar problems.
• Self-indulgence: Giving into pleasure regardless of
the consequences.
• Self-esteem: The need for high self-esteem may
encourage us to ignore, distort or hide personal
shortcomings so that we can’t see ourselves clearly
and accurately. Based on accomplishments.
Source: Neff (2016)

8. Self-compassion
• How does self-compassion
help?
• Compassion is related to
persistence in difficult tasks.
• All health behaviors are
essentially difficult tasks.

9. Compassion in children
• Some developmental studies on empathy in
children.
• More studies on mindfulness in children.
• Some studies on compassion in caregivers.

10. Compassion in obesity
• Most research to date is on reducing obesity
stigma by increasing empathy.
• Novel research on the use of compassion in
treatment of obesity.

11. • The evolutionary adaptiveness of obesity.
• Your body is doing exactly what it is designed to
do.
“More than half of [South
Sudan’s] entire population
is starving.” NBC News,
June 29, 2016

12. • Evolutionary adaptiveness of obesity
• Search for honey
• Triathletes
• Who’s for lunch?

13. Self-compassion
• Treating our bodies with respect, giving our bodies
appropriate fuel, appreciating what bodies can do
instead of how they look.
• Compassionate Hands
• Extending Gratitude to Your Body
Source: Neff (2005); Lillis et al. (2014)

14. Other resources (public)

15. Other resources (professionals)

16. Dayna Lee-Baggley, Ph.D.
Registered Psychologist
Nova Scotia Health Authority
Behaviour Change Institute
3rd floor, Bethune Building, Room 336
1276 South Park Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 2Y9
Phone: (902) 473-4686 Fax: (902) 473-2148
Email: Dayna.Lee-Baggley@nshealth.ca