S2E1: Interview with Dr. Jon Robison

Welcome to Season 2 of the Do No Harm Podcast! The first episode of the season is an interview with Dr. Jon Robison, a national leader in the Health At Every Size Movement for more than 2 decades.

Jon Robison holds a doctorate in health education/exercise physiology and a master of science in human nutrition from Michigan State University where he is Adjunct Assistant Professor. Dr. Robison is also Adjunct Associate Professor in The Holistic Health Care program at Western Michigan University. He has spent his career working to shift health promotion away from its traditional, biomedical, control-oriented focus, with a particular interest in why people do what they do and don’t do what they don’t do.

Jon has authored numerous articles and book chapters on a variety of health-related topics and is a frequent presenter at conferences throughout North America. He is co-author of the book, “The Spirit & Science of Holistic Health - More than Broccoli, Jogging and Bottled Water, More than Yoga, Herbs and Meditation,” a college textbook and a guidebook for practitioners who wish to incorporate holistic principles and practices into their work. This book provided the foundation for Kailo, one of the first truly holistic employee wellness programs. Kailo won prestigious awards in both Canada and The United States, and the creators lovingly claim Jon as its father.

Jon has implemented Health for Every Body® — a unique alternative to weight loss programs at the worksite in over 20 cities across the United States in the past 3 years. He is also one of the featured health professionals in the powerful documentary America The Beautiful II: The Thin Commandments and has been helping people struggling with weight- and eating-related concerns for 25 years.

His new-released book: How to Build a Thriving Culture at Work: Featuring The 7 Points of Transformation, written with co-conspirator Dr. Rosie Ward gives organizations a realistic, step-by-step blueprint to accomplish the difficult task of transforming their cultures to be healthier and more productive — “from the inside out.” The book was selected by Employee Benefit News as one of the top must reads for 2016.

As a Certified Intrinsic Coach, Jon understands that behavior is the outward manifestation of thinking and feeling – and that behavior modification approaches that focus on extrinsic motivation rarely result in sustained change and, in fact, often inhibit intrinsic motivation.

Aside from his work Jon’s passions include his wife Jerilyn, music, humor, an 11-lb living Teddy Bear named Ginger and watching his gifted son Joshua play soccer.

In this episode:

  • How Dr. Robison found HAES®
  • The research that shows that significant and sustained weight loss is not possible
  • The CDC article about Physical Activity at Every Size
  • His program Health for Every Body
  • And much more...
“Do we really need more research that prejudice and stigma are health minimizing?”
— Dr. Jon Robison