What is Health at Every Size®?
“The Health At Every Size® (HAES®) approach is a continuously evolving alternative to the weight-centered approach to treating clients and patients of all sizes. It is also a movement working to promote size-acceptance, to end weight discrimination, and to lesson the cultural obsession with weight loss and thinness. Health At Every Size® and HAES® are registered trademarks of the Association for Size Diversity and Health and used with permission.”
– From ASDAH (Association for Size Diversity and Health)
Health at Every Size® is:
- Based on the idea that healthcare is a human right for people of all sizes, including those at the highest end of the size spectrum.
- Understanding that wellbeing, care, and healing are resources that are both collective and deeply personal.
- Believing care is fully provided only when free from anti-fat bias and offered with people of all sizes in mind.
- Believing health is a sociopolitical construct that reflects the values of society.
Source: Association for Size Diversity and Health
Health at Every Size® is NOT:
Saying health is a moral imperative
Saying all people are healthy, but just that we cannot judge a person’s health from across the room or from the number on a scale
Saying that nutrition and exercise have no impact on health, but rather there are many factors that impact health (some individual and some systemic)
Anti-weight loss, it is a weight-neutral approach to health
Saying that weight never has an impact on health
A means to “have an excuse” and “give up”, but rather a sustainable approach to overall health
Just about intuitive eating
Only for those in larger sized bodies, since societal views on weight and health impact people in all body sizes
Only for those with binge eating disorder, since facing one’s biases around weight is an essential part of recovery from all eating disorders
Applicable only in healthcare but can also apply in personal, social, and educational environments.
How Opal Incorporates HAES in Eating Disorder Treatment
When one seeks healing from food, body and exercise concerns, one deserves to receive respectful care.
Opal aims to be conscious of bias, conscious of our own selves, conscious of our environment, conscious of our language, and conscious of our story with food, weight and exercise.
When we are conscious in these ways, we can better meet ourselves and each other in authenticity, transparency and vulnerability. We can see real people that come in different sized bodies, eating different kinds of food, that have traveled different roads, and have dealt with unique stressors. We don’t as easily get distracted by weight, BMI and culturally normative morals around health. Instead, care and support are provided which aims to have each person be honored and respected.
Since it’s founding in 2012, Opal has been rooted in Health at Every Size. Staff, services and facilities aim to align with this approach. We are not perfect in this effort and mistakes are made. We work hard to repair harm when it is done but this work will continue to be in progress. We invest in the following areas in our hope to make Opal an inclusive space for bodies of all size.
Opal's Commitment to Accountability in Care
- Educating staff on Health at Every Size® and weight-inclusive practices.
- Educating incoming clients on weight-inclusivity, weight stigma, and thin privilege. Please visit the weight-inclusive resource page for more reading on these topics.
- Offer groups aligned with weight-inclusivity, such as but not limited to: Deconstructing Diet Culture Class, Body Wisdom, Exercise + Sport Process Group, Nutrition Education,
- Interrupting microaggressions that are harmful to those living in larger sized bodies.
