What is HAES®?
HAES® is an acronym that stands for Health At Every Size. Although it has been thrown around more and more in recent years, this is a very specific term, and its trademark is owned by the Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH).
According to ASDAH,
“The Health At Every Size® Principles and Framework of Care are continuously evolving alternatives to the weight-centered approach to treating clients and patients of all sizes.”
The purpose of HAES® is
“to create the conditions for people of all sizes, particularly those most impacted by systemic anti-fat bias, to have equitable…access to the care and healthcare resources we need…”
HAES® includes 4 guiding principles and a 10-part framework to guide ethical care for all people. To do a deep dive into all the specifics, check out ASDAH’s website.
I’m curious, as you read this, if HAES® is what you thought it was? As more and more healthcare providers use this term, we run the risk of losing it’s true meaning.
There are also a lot of myths and misconceptions out there about HAES®. Let’s take a minute to go over 4 of them.
HAES® is NOT…
Saying that everyone IS healthy at every size.
It’s not “Healthy” At Every Size. People of all sizes can be healthy, and people of all sizes can be unhealthy. It’s Health At Every Size - as in access to health promotion and care for everyone, regardless of size.
Suggesting that physical or medical health doesn’t matter.
For some people, their individual pursuit of optimal physical health is a high value. HAES® is not suggesting that’s wrong or not allowed. What a HAES® approach does insist on is that “access to care must never depend on…health status, pursuit of health, or compliance with health recommendations.” Every Body deserves respect and high-quality care, regardless of their health-related behaviors and values.
Claiming that all foods are nutritionally equivalent.
“You can’t tell me that a PopTart is as healthy as broccoli!” A HAES®-aligned response would be something like, “It depends on what your body needs at a particular time. If what your body needs most in that moment is something rich in carbs, then yes! The PopTart would be the “better” choice in that moment. A HAES® approach would also point out that, while foods are not nutritionally the same, they are morally the same. We are not good or bad people based on what we eat.
Denying the *correlation* between weight and health.
Correlation is not the same as causation. Just because two things are associated, that doesn’t necessarily mean that one causes the other. For instance, male pattern baldness is correlated with heart disease. But, obviously the baldness is not causing the heart disease, and it would be ridiculous to try to prevent or treat heart disease with hair plugs. The HAES® movement challenges the medical establishment to get curious about what is causing the correlation between weight and health. And we suggest taking a good, hard look at systemic and medical anti-fat bias as a potential cause.
No matter what you’re struggling with, you can rest assured that all of the care provided at Every Body Psychotherapy aligns with the HAES® principles and uses the HAES® framework of care. Get connected to compassionate, liberating care today.