Infuse Infuse 10 December 2019 | Page 33

"Diets do not work
and eating a more
balanced variety of
food is more
important"
The HAES approach recognises that body
weight is determined by many internal
and external factors and that changes to
weight are not simply a matter of willpower.
It acknowledges that the experience
of a formerly larger-bodied person is
fundamentally different (physically,
metabolically and experientially) from an
effortlessly smaller-bodied person, and that
the behaviours required to sustain weight
losses among this group often conflict with
‘healthy lifestyle advice’.
"[Dietetic counselling]
made me realise how
unhealthy my internal
dialogue around
food was"
Health-oriented size accepting approaches
offer an alternative to hyper-focus on
weight control and energy intake. They
support adults to engage in health-
enhancing eating habits prompted by
their body cues and a desire for self-
nourishment. Sometimes this comes with
weight change, but often it does not, making
body acceptance work a necessary part of
HAES nutrition counselling.
As dietitians, we must ask ourselves ‘what
style of service is this client seeking?’
with every new client/patient that walks
into our practice. We need to have good
working knowledge of both weight centric
and size-accepting modalities and allow
clients to choose the right path for them -
even if that means referring out.
My research found that having a health
focus was superior to a weight control focus
for supporting dietary variety in Australian
adults, and that HAES dietitians are effective
conduits for increasing body acceptance
among women. In addition, we’ve found
that dietetics clients have a preference for
nutrition counselling rather than nutrition
education. That is, they’re seeking someone
to support them through ongoing lifestyle
challenges, not just a one-time visit to
receive facts and advice.
© Dietitian Connection
LEARN MORE:
www.healthnotdiets.com
facebook.com/HealthNotDiets/
@FionaWiller
33
@fionawiller
Infuse | December 2019