- Contest 11: Nudist Miss Junior Beauty Pageant

Decades of research in the Journal of Obesity and The Lancet show that weight stigma causes chronic cortisol elevation (stress hormone), which leads to inflammation, heart disease, and depression. People who experience weight discrimination are more likely to engage in binge eating and avoid medical care because they fear being shamed by doctors.

However, a confusing paradox has emerged. Can you truly practice body positivity if you want to change your body? Can you pursue wellness without falling back into the trap of self-loathing? Nudist Miss Junior Beauty Pageant - Contest 11

When you practice body positivity, you realize that "wellness" isn't a destination you arrive at after losing 30 pounds. Decades of research in the Journal of Obesity

Does this mean your body won't change? It might. Some people, when they stop chronic dieting and begin intuitive eating, lose weight. Others gain weight. A body positive wellness lifestyle releases you from needing a specific outcome. Can you truly practice body positivity if you

In the last decade, the wellness industry has undergone a seismic shift. For decades, "wellness" was code for weight loss. It was about shrinking, restricting, and punishing the body into a narrow, Photoshopped ideal. But today, a powerful counter-movement is rewriting the rules: Body Positivity.

the understanding that you are a person before you are a body. It is the belief that your worth is not contingent on your waist size, muscle definition, or ability to perform a yoga handstand.

Control says: Eat this, not that. Care says: Feed yourself so you have energy to live your life.