Health at Every Size (commonly abbreviated as HAES®) is a weight-neutral philosophy that places the emphasis on healthy behaviors as opposed to weight loss. It helps to promote body diversity as opposed to focusing on weight control and shape.
Below are the five principles of HAES® taken from the official website of the Association for Size Diversity and Health:
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.
If you’re tired of struggling with the constant cycle of yo-yo diets, binge eating or body dissatisfaction let’s connect! I’d love to talk more with you about how I use the HAES® approach in my practice.