The health of a person should not be judged by their weight, a Massey University lecturer in human development says.
Cat Paus, who is coordinating an Adult Identity Development Project, is asking people to reconsider the "obesity" myth, which she says wrongly suggests that fat is unhealthy, that body size is a predictor of health and that there are permanent forms of weight-loss available.
"Making assumptions of health based on a person's weight is faulty, and misinformation is putting people's physical and emotional well-being at risk," Dr Paus said.
"It is irresponsible to assume that all fat people are unhealthy, just as it is irresponsible to assume that all thin people are healthy."
Dr Paus said, so far, her research indicated that while New Zealand did not appear to be as weight obsessed as the United States, the same weight pressures were imposed.
"In the United States, 90 percent of women experience some form of dissatisfaction with their body. We have a global culture telling women that their bodies are not acceptable."
Dr Paus said there needed to be better understanding of issues surrounding weight and health, and that a culture shift must occur to encourage a healthier weight identity and physical health.
"Imagine if a doctor prescribed a pill that only worked 5 percent of the time for heart disease; it would be considered unethical, yet they still always say, `eat less, exercise more, lose weight'."
