Local eating disorders coalition backs removing scales from athletic centre

GUELPH — The Waterloo-Wellington Eating Disorders Coalition supports Carleton University’s move to take scales out of its athletic complex, and would like to see the same happen on campuses here.

The coalition sent a letter of support to the Ottawa University’s manager of wellness programs who said the decision to remove the scales earlier this month was to shift the focus away from weight and onto a more holistic view of health.

“We were obviously very much in support of that,” said Andrea LaMarre, coalition co-chair.

The decision was met with much criticism for removing what some consider a basic fitness tool and catering to students who are too sensitive.

“I think there’s lack of empathy for those who might struggle with these things,” LaMarre said.

She said it’s the usual refrain: “This is somehow infringing on the rights of someone else.”

While many people can simply choose to not weigh themselves, or think twice about the number on the scale, she said it’s not that simple for people struggling with an eating disorder or trying to recover.

“For someone with an eating disorder, it’s not such an easy choice,” LaMarre said.

That’s especially so for those in recovery who are trying to reclaim their relationship with activity in a healthy and positive way.

“It really complicates what they’re there for,” LaMarre said.

There’s a compulsion to step on the scale and what follows is an internal conversation about what that number means.

“No matter what the number is, it’s not going to be a satisfactory number,” LaMarre said. “It’s like a no-win situation.”

A scale is yet another trigger among many that people with eating disorders face every day in a culture focused on weight and shape, and where dieting and eating messages are pervasive.

People are used to weighing themselves any time and told they should monitor their weight, LaMarre said, but weight is not

the ultimate measure of health or activity.

While some may need to know their weight, such as high-performance athletes, that could be measured in a coach’s office or at home.

The coalition would like to see universities here, including Waterloo, Laurier and Guelph, also remove scales from their athletic centres.

“We have been reaching out to our local universities,” LaMarre said.

At the least, they could be moved to a less public area or positive messages could be posted nearby “that encourage people to re-evaluate that number,” LaMarre said.