Here’s what to know.
But for folks in larger-sized bodies, that expectation rarely lives up to reality.
Lesley Williams-Blackwell, MD, is a board certified family medicine physician and certified eating disorder specialist.
Lindo Bacon, PhD, is a health and weight researcher, author, and professor.
They are also an intersectional body positivity and body liberation activist.
It also makes them less likely to seek health care in the first place.
anti-diet dietitian and Heath at Every Size (HAES) practitioner
Weight stigma is a huge problem in the health-care industry.
What is Health at Every Size, and what are its origins?
Essentially, HAES is a weight-neutral approach to health.
The origins of HAES are decades-old.
In 1967, writer Lew Louderback published an article inThe Saturday Evening Posttitled More People Should Be Fat!
HAES is one piece of this movement.
Whats the evidence behind HAES?
Paying attention to things like hunger and fullness.
Meanwhile, the HAES group saw sustained improvements in health markers over the two years.
anti-diet dietitian and Heath at Every Size (HAES) practitioner
Studies have also supported Louderbacks assertion that weight loss is difficult to maintain long-term.
In a 2011 review published inNutrition Journal,Dr.
The why of all this isnt perfectly understood, but rest assured that it isnt lack of willpower.
Its Amazing How Its All Connected.
The HAES philosophy has been met with some skepticism in mainstream health circles.
By labeling it an obesity epidemic, [you] are problematizing weight, Dr. Bacon says.
Regardless of what your weight is, we can all make good choices to support health.
Despite this evidence, many health-care professionals continue to emphasize the importance of weight loss for health.
Weight must havesomeimpact on health, right?
Yes, and taking a HAES approach doesnt mean denying that theres some relationship between weight and health.
The HAES movement takes this reality into account.
In reality, its much more complicated than that.
(Just look at the Body Mass Index, which has beenshown to be inaccurate for many people.)
Some experts question the plausibility of metabolically healthy obesity.
Why do HAES advocates think this approach to health is so important?
Again, none of the evidence above denies that there is some relationship between weight and health.
Its also about meeting people where they are.
Is this person living at or below the poverty level?
Is this person in a non-binary or trans body?
Is this person in a disabled body?
Is this person living with a mental illness or a chronic illness?
Does this person have generational trauma?
Many would then avoid the doctors office going forward, for fear of being stigmatized or feeling disrespected.
How do you find a HAES practitioner?
If youre looking for a HAES-informed health-care provider, theresan online databasethat you could search by area or specialty.
And, look, if youre not on board with every aspect of the HAES movement, thats okay.
Its a huge paradigm shift that goes against what most of us have been taught.
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