General terminology
When it comes to the Health at Every Size ® paradigm, there is sometimes terminology that makes people confused. Here is a quick overview of some of the words often thrown around in the Health at Every Size ® movement.
Diet Culture
"A system of beliefs that equates thinness, muscularity and particular body shapes with health and moral virtue; promotes weight loss and body reshaping as a means of attaining higher status; demonizes certain foods and food groups while elevating others; and oppresses people who don't match the supposed picture of "health"-Definition found in "Anti-Diet" by Christy Harrison pg. 7
Health at Every Size ® (HAES)
HAES is copyrighted by the Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH).
It's 5 principles include:
1. Weight Inclusivity: Accept and respect the inherent diversity of body shapes and sizes and reject the idealizing or pathologizing of specific weights.
2. Health Enhancement: Support health policies that improve and equalize access to information and services, and personal practices that improve human well-being, including attention to individual physical, economic, social, spiritual, emotional, and other needs.
3. Respectful Care: Acknowledge our biases, and work to end weight discrimination, weight stigma, and weight bias. Provide information and services from an understanding that socioeconomic status, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, and other identities impact weight stigma and support environments that address these inequities.
4. Eating for Well-being: Promote flexible, individualized Eating based on hunger, satiety, nutritional needs, and pleasure, rather than any externally regulated eating plan focused on weight control.
5. Life-Enhancing Movement: Support physical activities that allow people of all sizes, abilities, and interests to engage in enjoyable movement, to the degree that they choose. (Found on https://www.sizediversityandhealth.org/content.asp?id=76)
Weight-normative Paradigm
The weight-normative paradigm rests on these central tenets:
1. Bodyweight is increasing rapidly around the world
2. BMI and other measures of body weight or fatness are good indicators of current and future health status
3. A BMI over 24.9 is a direct cause of disease and premature death
4. Increases or decreases in body weight are caused by a simple imbalance between an individual's energy intake and energy expenditure
5. Bodyweight is at least partly volitional and within the control of the individual
6. Decreasing energy intake and increasing energy expenditure are effective methods for successful and sustained weight Swinburn and Egger (2004)
7. Changes in the environment in the past few decades have created an 'obesogenic' environment
8. Creating a less 'obesogenic' environment will reduce the prevalence of 'obesity'
9. Focusing on body weight for all people, and losing bodyweight for 'overweight' and 'obese' people, will result in achieving better health and reduce the personal, social, and economic costs associated with higher than average body weight
*Found on pg. 5 table 2 in "What's Wrong With the 'War on Obesity?' A Narrative Review of the Weight-Centered Health Paradigm and Development of the 3C Framework to Build Critical Competency for a Paradigm Shift" by Lily O'Hara and Jane Taylor
Intuitive Eating
"Intuitive Eating is a self-care eating framework, which integrates instinct, emotion, and rational thought and was created by two dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in 1995. Intuitive Eating is a weight-inclusive, evidence-based model with a validated assessment scale and over 100 studies to date. "- found on https://www.intuitiveeating.org/
10 principles to Intuitive Eating:
1.Reject the Diet Mentality
2. Honor Your Hunger
3. Make Peace with Food
4. Challenge the Food Police
5. Discover the Satisfaction Factor
6. Feel Your Fullness
7. Cope with Your Emotions with Kindness
8. Respect Your Body
9. Movement-Feel the Difference
10 Honor you Health-Gentle Nutrition
Weight Bias
Negative attitudes and bias against fat people
Weight Stigma
Disadvantages experienced by and harmful behaviors towards fat people.
People's weight bias leads to behaviors that cause weight stigma.