Taryn Brumfitt's body positivity dissected by Emma Beckett, a University of Newcastle molecular nutritionist

"If someone is positive about their body, or at least neutral, then they're more likely to take care of it," said Dr Beckett, a University of Newcastle molecular nutritionist.

A national spotlight was put on body positivity when Taryn Brumfitt was named Australian of the Year.

Ms Brumfitt, 44, established the "Body Image Movement" to help people "embrace their bodies".

It is based on the idea that "everyone has the right to love and celebrate their body, regardless of shape, size, ethnicity or ability".

It also aims to "combat toxic messaging in media and advertising".

Ms Brumfitt starred in and directed the Netflix documentary Embrace, released in 2016, which aimed to inspire people to "change the way we feel about ourselves and think about our bodies".

She has travelled the globe spreading her message.

Critics argue that body positivity ignores the health risks associated with carrying excess body weight.

But Dr Beckett said "that's just not true".

"I totally understand people want to have better conversations around food. That's something I do all the time - try to encourage people to eat better. But we don't encourage anyone to eat better by policing their bodies or food choices.

"We encourage people to eat better by making the healthier choices easier, palatable, fun and accessible."

In October last year, American talk show host Dr Phil McGraw asked whether the body positivity movement had gone too far.

He said the "current science" showed that being obese or morbidly obese raised the risks for health conditions such as diabetes, some types of cancer, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, arthritis, asthma and coronary artery disease.

In an article in The Conversation last September, Viren Swami - a professor of social psychology at Anglia Ruskin University - wrote that critics argue that the "emphasis on loving your looks actually reinforces society's preoccupation with appearance" over other attributes.

The scientific journal Obesity made headlines when it published a piece that said the "normalisation" of overweight people and obesity had become widespread in England.

"While this type of body-positive movement helps reduce stigmatisation of larger-sized bodies, it can potentially undermine the recognition of being overweight and its health consequences," it stated.

Concerns have also been raised that corporate brands have hijacked the movement and attractive white women are the most influential voices.

Ms Brumfitt, who has faced criticism for promoting brands on social media, has stated that the movement is "not about promoting obesity".

But she believes taking the focus off weight and "that number on the scales" is good for people.

Dr Beckett agrees, saying "weight is only one marker of health".

"We need to get away from this oversimplified approach for healthy eating and body positivity - that it's all about weight. People can be healthy at any weight and they can be unhealthy at any weight. There's so much more to health than what we're eating. As a nutritionist I should say the most important thing is what we eat, but it absolutely is not."

She said nutrition science often uses weight as a measure, "not because weight is the most important thing we can measure".

"It's because weight is easy to measure," she said.

She said the body positivity conversation can descend into "arguments about fat versus thin".

"There is so much more to body positivity than just your body's size. Bodies are super complicated, so is eating. For me, it's great they rewarded and acknowledged a grassroots campaigner, but none of this is simple.

"We need to embrace the complexity of bodies and eating before we can actually get to any solutions. And there are no simple solutions. If there were, we'd be there already."

The sensitivity of the issue can be highlighted when people raise the weight of family and friends over apparent health concerns.

Underlying this, though, can be society's obsession with appearance.

Dr Beckett said society and culture tends to "segregate people into appearance categories".

Fat-shaming on social media and in social situations has become a hot-button issue.

"People who see a selfie of me online feel comfortable commenting on my fat body," Dr Beckett said.

The lines people are willing to cross over health perceptions can be selective.

"No one's walking around nightclubs smacking drinks out of skinny girls' hands."

If health was the main concern, she believes similar judgmental comments would occur around applying sunscreen and drinking too much alcohol.

"The fact that people think they can judge someone's health based on their body size is completely erroneous anyway because weight is only one marker of health."

She said diet culture had created a "deep-rooted fear of fat bodies".

The fat acceptance movement, also known as fat pride, strengthened in response to this.

And body positivity emerged in a new wave of activism, amid opposition to the media, fashion and beauty industries' focus on thin models and Barbie doll-style bodies.

"If people are really concerned about people in fat bodies and their health outcomes, go and campaign against fat stigma," Dr Beckett said.

"Campaign for fat people to have the same access to health care, and for doctors to believe them when they have pain in the same way they believe thin people.

"Campaign for our mental health, not just for our nutritional health."

Ms Brumfitt plans to spend the next 12 months teaching children to appreciate the skin they are in.

The writer and documentary maker wants to shift the way people - young and old - think about the way they look.

"We need to get this right for every Australian, especially our children. The time is now to have a national conversation about how we feel about our bodies, because it's not our life's purpose to be at war with it."

Ms Brumfitt wants school curriculums to include body positivity lessons and resources to ensure children learn how to love their bodies from an early age. Another project Ms Brumfitt hopes to tackle is the final film in the Embrace trilogy about male body positivity.

She said men should be included in the movement because they also faced body image challenges.

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