It seems like every time you watch TV or go online, you get bombarded with advertisements for products related to weight loss. Whether it be the pioneer Weight Watchers, or the sketchy calorie-burning supplements, there is a giant business built on getting people to shed the pounds. Like me, you may be disheartened to see weight loss touted as the cornerstone of health and wellbeing. But what if health didn’t have to revolve around weight status?
This is where the HAES approach comes in. HAES stands for Health At Every Size, and it dismisses the notion that one size or one weight is synonymous with good health. Rather, physical and emotional wellbeing can occur at any size, and improving the quality of life begins with practicing healthy behaviors, not losing weight.
You may wonder, if HAES is a weight-neutral approach to good health, what are its guiding principles? According to the founders of the movement, there are three main components: Respect, Critical Awareness, and Compassionate Self-care. Respect involves celebrating body diversity, and appreciating differences in our attributes, like size, age, race, and gender. Critical Awareness relates to challenging scientific assumptions about people living with overweight and obesity and honoring personal experiences. Lastly, compassionate self-care is about finding joy in movement and eating according to what we need and what we like.
Unlike dieting, the HAES approach is not meant to induce stress. Traditional weight loss methods are purely a numbers game, whether it be counting the calories you consumed that day or tracking the scale value each night. Not meeting these goals can lead to a sense of failure, which induces stress and undermines good health. Furthermore, it drives the faulty assumption that you cannot be healthy until you reach one size. Instead, the HAES approach values emotional wellbeing, encouraging people to celebrate who they are and to prioritize self-care over body size.
Since HAES is a relatively new approach to health improvement, there aren’t any long-term studies that show its impact. However, several short-term studies suggest that the HAES approach has positive effects on behavior and appetite. For example, in one study, a group of 78 people using the HAES approach maintained their weight, while improving their energy expenditure and eating behaviors. Psychologically, groups members improved their self-esteem, body image, and depression. Even one year after the study, the HAES members were able to sustain the results, unlike the comparison diet group that initially lost weight but gained it back.
Now that we understand what the HAES approach is, how do we incorporate its principles into our own lives? Some concrete actions include eating honoring hunger cues without limiting intake, incorporating walks into daily routines, or setting a defined sleep schedule every night. If you don’t know where to start, it’s always worth chatting with a local dietitian nutritionist.