Health at Every Size (HAES®)
How refreshing is this movement, ‘Health at Every Size’ (HAES). An approach to health and wellbeing that takes out the focus on body size and appearance as the measure of health.
If our weight-centric society and diet culture looked at me while I had disordered eating and exercise habits, they would say; “she is healthy”. This focus on weight just reinforced unhealthy and restrictive patterns, as I often received validating comments about my appearance and an assumption this size equated to health. Spoiler alert, I was in fact very unhealthy. You cannot assume someone’s health status by their size. Yes, my body size may have now changed, but so has my health (for the better!) and HAES® supports this concept.
Why HAES?
“The framing for a Health At Every Size (HAES®) approach comes out of discussions among healthcare workers, consumers, and activists who reject both the use of weight, size, or BMI as proxies for health, and the myth that weight is a choice.“ (Size Inclusive Health Australia)
“Weight neutral approaches are experiencing a rapid growth period in research right now” (Size Inclusive Health Australia)
Basically;
A) BMI is bogus
B) Weight doesn’t measure health
C) Focusing on a person’s physical size rather than health promoting behaviours can be more detrimental to a person’s health.
What is HAES?
“The HAES® model is an approach to both policy and individual decision-making. It addresses broad forces that support health, such as safe and affordable access. It also helps people find sustainable practices that support individual and community well-being. The HAES® approach honors the healing power of social connections, evolves in response to the experiences and needs of a diverse community, and grounds itself in a social justice framework.“ (Size Inclusive Health Australia)
How does it actually work?
“The Health At Every Size® Principles are:
Weight Inclusivity: Accept and respect the inherent diversity of body shapes and sizes and reject the idealizing or pathologizing of specific weights.
Health Enhancement: Support health policies that improve and equalize access to information and services, and personal practices that improve human well-being, including attention to individual physical, economic, social, spiritual, emotional, and other needs.
Respectful Care: Acknowledge our biases, and work to end weight discrimination, weight stigma, and weight bias. Provide information and services from an understanding that socio-economic status, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, and other identities impact weight stigma, and support environments that address these inequities.
Eating for Well-being: Promote flexible, individualized eating based on hunger, satiety, nutritional needs, and pleasure, rather than any externally regulated eating plan focused on weight control.
Life-Enhancing Movement: Support physical activities that allow people of all sizes, abilities, and interests to engage in enjoyable movement, to the degree that they choose.” (Size Inclusive Health Australia)
If you’re a health professional…
It is important to consider and be aware of HAES and the non-diet approach in your practice. I’d highly recommend this recent Goodfellow Unit webinar with Maria Casale on how to talk about weight and bodies using a patient-centred weight-inclusive lens.
How we talk about weight and bodies: why it matters | Goodfellow Unit
Be kind to yourself,
M x
References:
What is health at every size (HAES)®? . Size Inclusive Health Australia - What is HAES®? (n.d.). https://www.sizeinclusivehealth.org.au/What-is-HAES
Committed to size diversity in health and HAES®. ASDAH. (2023, August 23). https://asdah.org/
