Founded in 1992 by Mary Evans Young, British feminist and director of the British anti-diet campaign "Diet Breakers," "No Diet Day" is an international, annual celebration of body acceptance and body shape diversity.
"The goal of the day is to dispel the idea that there is only one right' body type and instead urges us all to celebrate the beauty in all of our natural shapes and sizes," EDPA intern Hannah Groveman '13 said.
The day is also dedicated to raising awareness about the dangers and futility of dieting and to recognizing how dieting perpetuates violence against women. The event honors the victims of eating disorders and weight-loss surgery.
"I think it's important to have a No Diet Day' celebration at Dartmouth because eating disorders are fairly common on college campuses," EDPA Whitney FitzPatrick '13 said.
This year marks EDPA's 8th annual celebration, which featured a lecture "The Positive Body: Real Options for Health, Happiness, and High Self-Esteem starting where'er you are, right now" delivered by three-time National Champion dancer Ragen Chastain, as well as a Zumba workshop.
In her blog, "Dances with Fat," Chastain advocates for health in "all shapes and sizes." A plus-sized woman, she said she believes that all individuals should be treated with respect, and that it is impossible to determine a person's health based on weight.
"Health at Every Size" involves accepting a diversity of body shapes and recognizing that health and well-being are multi-dimensional, including physical, social, spiritual, occupational, emotional and intellectual aspects, according to Chastain's writing. Priorities for health should include promoting all aspects of health and well-being; eating in a manner which balances individual nutritional needs, hunger, satiety, appetite and pleasure; and encouraging individually appropriate, enjoyable physical activity, rather than exercise that is focused on a goal of weight loss.
Chastain began blogging when she realized that some individuals turn toward self-loathing because of their body size, and others had never "moved their bodies for any reason other than to try to change the size and shape," she said on the blog. She said her greatest accomplishment was learning to love herself and her body, despite being outside the norm of "cultural beauty."
Chastain is also a proponent of Behavior-Centered Health, a health practice in which healthy behaviors, rather than a particular size, weight or shape, are the ultimate goal.
"She is a wonderful, kind, fat, healthy woman who loves to dance," EDPA Kate Shelton said in an email to The Dartmouth. "In my few interactions with her, I felt so inspired to not worry about my size but to take care of my body by loving it, cherishing it, giving it what it needs and recognizing its beauty and strength."
As part of the celebration, visitors were urged by EDPAs on the Collis Center porch to sign a pledge which stipulated choosing foods that are nourishing to the body, eating when hungry and avoiding shame or guilt "about your size or about eating." The pledge also encouraged signers to think about the effects of dieting and well-being and to do "at least one thing you have been putting off until you lose weight.'"
Because diets are statistically unsuccessful, individuals should focus on feeding themselves healthfully without comparing themselves to others, FitzPatrick said.
Community members signing the pledge were entered into a raffle, with prizes including gift cards to Morano Gelato and the Dirt Cowboy Cafe.
Shelton, who led the celebration's Zumba workshop, said "No Diet Day" is important to her because she personally has recovered from an eating disorder. Zumba is more akin to a "dance party" than strenuous exercise, making it both enjoyable and effective, according to Shelton.
"Celebrations like this remind me that everything is okay because my body can do wonderful things like teach Zumba!" Shelton said in an email to The Dartmouth. "To be an instructor and get to share my joy with others... keeps me happy and grounded in the reality that my body, by dancing, brings me bliss."
The "No Diet Day" celebration was co-sponsored by the Real Beauty Initiative, Panarchy undergraduate society, Zeta Psi fraternity and Kappa Kappa Gamma, Kappa Delta, Epsilon Kappa Theta, Kappa Delta Epsilon and Alpha Xi Delta sororities.
