both of those individu-
als will have strengths
and weaknesses to
their health. That’s
okay. In fact, to mea-
sure them both against
the same standard
would never work for
both of them.
HAES proposes that
the two individuals
can instead find a
balanced, holistic and
sustainable way of
achieving healthful be-
haviours to give them
the quality of life that
they desire. In a nut-
shell, HAES removes
the focus from weight
and instead focuses on
healthful behaviours
that encompass physi-
cal, mental and emo-
tional health.
Fat isn’t (or doesn’t
have to be) inherently
unhealthy. Thin people
can be healthy/un-
healthy, and likewise
can fat people (and
everyone in between
or otherwise in that
spectrum). Similarly,
“healthy” and “un-
healthy” are subjective
based on individual
factors as we discussed
above. So, by this
token, “overweight”
page 12
and “underweight” are
damaging terms to use
(when generalised) as
there is no one exact
weight where every
single person becomes
either overweight
or underweight. In
this same frame, we
also know that health
(or also over/under-
weight-ness) cannot be
determined simply by
looking at someone.
For instance, simply
looking at my curvy
being if they choose to.
Of course, this doesn’t
mean that every
person is “healthy”
at their current size
or that everyone can
achieve a peak of
health… but rather
that everyone can
incorporate healthful
behaviours into their
lives that increase their
longevity, reduce risk
and improve their
overall experience of
life.
Regardless of size, any
individual can make improve-
ments to their health and
wellbeing if they choose to.
frame doesn’t tell you
that I have genetically
high-normal blood
pressure, but that I
manage it. Or that
my cholesterol is spot
on. Or that I’ve got a
back injury from years
ago. Or that my lung
capacity is amazing.
Or that I’m lactose
intolerant. Or any of
the run on impacts of
the strengths & weak-
nesses that impact me
as an individual.
Regardless of size,
any individual can
make improvements to
their health and well-
For example, let’s say
a fat person (and I say
‘fat’ with zero stigma,
positive or negative -
simply as a descriptor)
has high cholesterol.
A traditional response
may be to put that
person on a restrictive
diet to lose weight to
try and reduce their
cholesterol. But, the
HAES approach would
be to look at not only
what that person was
eating (e.g. what foods
and how much of
them) but how they
were eating them (e.g.
the psychology behind
their eating habits,
what fuels them and
why they view cer-
tain foods in certain
ways - then address-
ing any problematic
behaviours to help
them make informed
decisions about what
they eat in the long
term, not just in the
immediate, “Oh no, get
my cholesterol down
ASAP” future).
Sometimes, weight
loss happens as a result
of making lifestyle
changes… and that’s
okay! HAES is not anti
bodies getting smaller.
For instance, let’s say
you start listening to
your hunger cues and
eating intuitively, or
maybe you discover
that you really enjoy
dancing and start tak-
ing a weekly class. In
response to this, your
body mass may inci-
dentally decrease. In
HAES, the difference
between “healthy”
weight loss and “un-
healthy” weight loss is
the motivation. HAES
teaches that intention-
al weight loss via diet-
ing causes more harm
(mental and physical)
than good in the long
run, and is unsustain-
able. But, where bodies
happen to incidentally
cycle down as a result
of the benefits that
one feels from lifestyle
changes… the health-
fulness comes from
the behaviours, not the