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An Introduction to the Health at Every Size Movement
Every so often in discussions surrounding nutrition and eating disorders, new concepts and ideas come into play. For example, the intuitive eating craze took the world of nutrition by storm when it advocated for listening to the natural hunger cues of one’s body rather than subscribing to rigid diet plans. Some of these ideas are fads that tend to cycle in and out over time. However, as we learn more about eating disorders and recovery, innovative ideas like intuitive eating become pertinent in how we address complex body image issues.
Like intuitive eating, the idea of Health at Every Size initially made a splash when it hit nutrition circuits. While the idea isn’t necessarily revolutionary in concept, incorporating it into our society in the United States (and elsewhere in the world) certainly is. If you’ve never heard of Health at Every Size (HAES) here is a brief introduction to the movement, and how it aims to aid those in recovery.
What is Health at Every Size?
Health at Every Size or HAES operates on the notion that weight is not the sole defining factor of a person’s overall health or wellbeing. Moreover, HAES aims to encourage medical professionals (and society at large) to view health as a holistic spectrum where multiple intersecting lifestyle factors play important roles. Rather than make sweeping generalizations about a person’s overall health based on size alone, HAES aims to bring nuance back into the discussion.
Traditionally, those in the medical field have relied on BMI to gauge a patient’s health, regardless of extenuating circumstances. While weight is important to consider, when it is used as the sole determining factor against which health is measured, it fails to recognize the very real possibility that many people’s illnesses or ailments aren’t always directly linked to size. And while weight discrimination affects both men and women, it is particularly prevalent for women and has been documented both anecdotally and in many studies.
A movement like HAES is thus significant in both eating disorder recovery, and discourse surrounding how we treat larger bodies in general. While weight loss can be effective in certain circumstances, weight loss should never be used as a carte blanche to solve any physical issue reported by someone who is clinically overweight or obese.
The Importance of Health at Every Size in Eating Disorder Recovery
When it comes to disorders like anorexia or bulimia, patients are often actively afraid of weight gain. HAES helps to reinforce the idea that health is not determined by a number on the scale, and further encourages individuals with eating disorders to look at recovery as a series of healing milestones that incorporate both physical AND mental changes. The number on the scale does not have any bearing on self-worth.
HAES also encourages those in recovery to not fixate on numbers, which often play a significant role in what made them sick, to begin with. Health at Every Size is the simple yet revolutionary idea that health is made up of more than just weight, and that recovery should focus on healing from the inside out, rather than hyper-focusing on getting patients to an “ideal” weight.
https://asdah.org/health-at-every-size-haes-approach/
