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Medical researchers A.G. Tai and T. Wadden report that more than half of the adult population in America, over 116 million people, continue to diet even though not a single study shows that diets result in long term weight loss.

In fact, even very conservative estimates indicate that diets fail at least 90 percent of the time or more. How many of you would be interested in medical treatment that had a 10 percent or less chance of success?

Sadder still, in addition to not working, diets actually worsen the very problems they claim to solve. For example, as author and researcher Glenn Gaessar states in his book "Big Fat Lies," dieters find that in the long run their post diet weight is higher than their pre-diet weight.

Also, according to author and national presenter, Jon Robison, weight cycling brought on by dieting is associated with increased risk for heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, low bone density, kidney cancer and breast cancer.

Finally, dieting often increases cravings for high fat, high sugar foods, leading to bingeing and can ultimately result in an eating disorder.

Clearly dieting is not the road to weight loss or health. In fact, it turns out weight is not the key factor in determining good health and longevity. Much better indicators of health are blood pressure, blood sugar and blood cholesterol.

These are all measures of what Glenn Gaesser refers to as "metabolic fitness." Fortunately, metabolic fitness can be achieved with moderate physical activity and sensible nutrition - as opposed to restrictive dieting. So, you can achieve metabolic fitness regardless of your body's size and shape.

Some of you might be wondering if thin people are already metabolically fit. An inactive, thin person may actually be far less fit then a physically active person of large size.

Yes, "overweight" people can be fit because physical activity, even at moderate levels, helps people achieve metabolic and cardiovascular health. In fact, according to Dr. Steven Blair, research director of the Cooper Institute, physical activity is a much better predictor of health and longevity than amount of body fat.

So for those of you who give people of size a hard time, hound them to lose weight or make fun of them about their weight, you really don't have the excuse that you are doing them a favor and urging them to better health. You are simply indulging in one of the last "acceptable" prejudices in America - size discrimination.

Fortunately, an organization known as the Association for Size Diversity and Health promotes a set of principles for Health at Every Size that brings some sanity to this issue.

If followed, these principles could help end the current unhealthy obsession with weight and thinness so prevalent in our country. This obsession currently results in discrimination against people of large size and in self hatred and eating disorders among much of the rest of the population.

ASDAH suggests the following principles of Health at Every Size:

* Accepting and respecting the diversity of body shapes and sizes.

* Recognizing that health and well-being are multi-dimensional and that they include physical, social, spiritual, occupational, emotional and intellectual aspects.

* Promoting eating in a manner that balances individual nutritional needs, hunger, satiety, appetite and pleasure.

* Promoting individually appropriate, enjoyable life-enhancing physical activity, rather than exercise that is focused on a goal of weight loss.

* Promoting all aspects of health and well being for people of all sizes.

The above approach has a much better chance of promoting real health than our $30 billion-plus diet industry currently offers.

So remember, as Steven Blair at the Cooper Institute says, "healthy bodies come in all shapes. We need to stop hounding people about their weight and encourage them to eat a healthful diet and exercise."

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