Before you go on a DIET READ THIS..... (front of brochure) Are you "overweight"? Are you always failing at your latest diet and bouncing back to your original weight and more? Do you blame yourself for lack of "will-power"? Are you told you have an emotional problem with food? That you're "self-destructive"? You are not alone--and 79 million Americans are not self-destructive. Fact 1: 99% of all people who go on reducing diets of any type gain the weight back within five years or less. Fact 2: 90% of all people who lose weight gain back more than they lost within five years. Fact 3: Most fat people do not eat more than most thin people. This finding is the result of over twenty years of research by nutritionists, and is well-documented. In other words, you do not make yourself fat. Thin people don't eat less than you. (Why should you go hungry?) Fact 4: Even "safe" diets wreck your health. The "yo-yo" syndrome of gaining and losing weight over and over causes heart, muscle, nerve, and/or kidney damage. Fat people become "health risks" because we weaken our bodies trying to lose weight. Fact 5: Stress is a major factor in health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. The more we are pressured to hate ourselves, the more we are stressed. Fact 6: Fat people who live where it's considered OK to be fat are as healthy as the slim people around them. Fact 7: Reducing is a $10 billion industry annually. Someone is making a lot of money off the public's fear of fat. Your (temporary) loss is their gain, and they want to keep it that way. Before Dieting After Dieting (inside of brochure) For documentation of the information presented here, see the U.S. Public Health Service Publication Obesity and Health, 1966. (back of brochure) Originally Published in 1974 by the Fat Underground, Los Angeles, California USA Printer-friendly format--outside of brochure, English and Spanish (Adobe Acrobat PDF file) Printer-friendly format--inside of brochure, English and Spanish (Adobe Acrobat PDF file) If you don't have the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, download it here. Presented as a public service by Largesse, the Network for Size Esteem http://www.largesse.net/ This document may be freely copied and distributed in its entirety for non-commercial use in promoting size diversity empowerment, provided this statement is included. LARGESSE HOMEPAGE SIZE-POSITIVE EDUCATION & SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL NO DIET DAY (MAY 6) WEIGHT DISCRIMINATION & LEGAL RESOURCES FAT LIBERATION ARCHIVES DECONSTRUCTING MEDIA MISINFORMATION BOOKS ORGANIZATIONS LINKS