3 lies the internet tells about Health At Every Size
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HAES
Hi Musers! Today we’re going to be covering a hot topic of mine. The myths, misconceptions and outright lies people tell about Health At Every Size (HAES).
Health At Every Size has been gaining pace since the ’70s but in particular since Linda Bacon wrote a book in 2006 about her experiences in applying its principles. She ran a full scientific study with a HAES group and a control group following a regular calorie-controlled diet.
The results were stark. The HAES group did not lose a significant amount of weight but they did report no longer having a toxic relationship with food. They learned to listen to their bodies and eat intuitively. The diet group did lose weight and saw some health benefits but as with virtually all diets they subsequently regained the weight.
The HAES participants continued to improve over time. They reported having more energy, experiencing greater enjoyment of their bodies as well as a marked drop in LDL (dangerous) cholesterol and blood pressure. There were other improvements too, here’s what two of the participants said:
“Food sure tastes good now! I remember before I started the program: Thinking about what to eat terrified me and was always on my mind. Now it’s simple and fun”
Health At Every Size – Linda Bacon
‘Every morning I used to get on the scale. Whether I was up or down, it didn’t matter—the number always told me I wasn’t good enough. While in the program, I took the advice to change my scale, putting affirmations where the numbers once were. Now, the scale tells me I’m “perfect,” “sexy,” or “looking good!” And seeing that actually helps me eat better!”
Health At Every Size – Linda Bacon
People just keep misunderstanding HAES!
In spite of these fantastic results however, there are still those who misunderstand the HAES program and criticise it using completely inaccurate information. You’d think of you were going to take shots at something you’d actually read the book first! Nowadays it seems nobody takes the time to do any research. They’d rather believe whatever crap is trotted out on the internet. Not you though my wonderful Musers! You all question and want to learn and that’s why you’re all so wonderful 😃
Going back to the critics though, they do drive me mad because this program has the potential to help a lot of people cure their disordered eating and heal their relationships with food and their bodies. The misinformation spread about HAES may put them off trying it at all. This then condemns them to more miserable years of yo-yo dieting. Time to set the record straight!
It’s HealthY at every size
This is the most common one as it’s the easiest way to attack the principles. All over the internet you’ll hear cries of “Come on! How can every size body be healthy? It’s a load of crap!” This is true. Not every person’s body is healthy but one thing these people forget is that there are plenty of thin people who are unhealthy not just fat ones. It also rather callously assumes all people have a choice whether to be healthy. They don’t.
The key point though is that the first word is health not healthy! What HAES is trying to promote is the idea that any person, regardless of their size, can engage in healthy behaviours that will have a positive impact on their overall health and well-being. The added benefits of doing it this way will be to avoid the health risks caused by weight cycling (the repeated loss and regain of weight) and avoiding the starving/bingeing behaviours caused by dieting.
A focus on eating a varied diet and moving because you love and honour your body is a sustainable way to live. Your happiness continuing to be at the mercy of whatever number appears on the scales each morning is not. Come on, we’ve all done enough diets to know this is true!
It promotes dangerous body types and encourages obesity
No! HAES does not “promote” any body type. It does not elevate any type of body. Instead, HAES encourages body neutrality. It states that the size and shape of our body should not be a factor in how we feel about ourselves or how we are treated by society. All body types should be shown respect and be treated equally. Doesn’t exactly sound crazy does it? The sad fact is fatphobia is rampant, particularly throughout the first world. Not even doctors and nurses are immune.
The Nursing Times magazine here in the UK carried out a literature review to investigate if nurses had negative attitudes towards obese patients. This is a part of the results they published.
“A few studies explored nurses’ perceptions of, and interactions with, obese patients using qualitative research methods. One carried out as a survey in four neighbouring NHS primary care trusts in the north of England (Brown et al, 2007). They sent a questionnaire to 564 nurses and health visitors in primary care settings, of whom 72.3% responded. Although outright negative stereotypes were rare, negative attitudes and beliefs were expressed, with 68.9% viewing obesity as a result of poor personal food choices and level of physical activity, while perceiving obese patients as, “greedy”, “indulging” and “lazy”; 54.7% thought these patients had no willpower, motivation or strong personality to change their lifestyles”
Nurses should be aware being a heavier weight is not just due to being lazy or greedy or having no willpower. Even they are not immune to society’s fatphobic conditioning though. Rewriting the dialogue is vital and HAES is fighting that battle for all of us. Bodies need to be seen as just bodies again with no morality or bias linked to their size.
It encourages people not to diet even when they clearly need to
Yes. This is true. However, this is because HAES believes that the deliberate focus on weight loss as a goal leads to dieting behaviours. Dieting cuts a person off from their body’s natural cues. Your body knows what it needs and will tell you if you listen. Diets blunt your receptiveness to these signals. Instead of eating when you’re hungry, you eat on a schedule. You don’t eat till you feel pleasantly satisfied, you eat till you’ve had the quantity of food you’re “allowed”. Before a meal you don’t ask yourself what you feel like eating, you eat according to your diet plan.
Secondly, it is a widely held belief that losing weight is the only way for a fat person to become healthier. This is not true. In fact, there are studies into illnesses associated with higher weight that have discovered that fatter people who have never dieted have perfectly normal health markers. A great example is high blood pressure. In cultures where there is not an obsessive emphasis on thinness then there is no strong link between weight and high blood pressure. In the western world there is. The difference? Yo-yo dieting!
The Problem With Diets
Diets don’t work. You know what, let me say that again for those in the back…DIETS DO NOT WORK! 95% of all diets fail and leave the dieter heavier than when they started. In addition, repeatedly losing and gaining weight has been found to cause more health problems, physical and emotional, than just staying fat to begin with. This is why HAES advocates abandoning dieting as a way of being healthier and instead learn to move our bodies in a way that feels good and focus on eating a wide variety of foods. It’s getting back to the skills we are all born with before diet culture sinks its claws in and tells us we can’t trust our bodies.
Health At Every Size has helped me see how much we’ve been brainwashed by the beauty and dieting industries. How a huge amount of the “facts” we are taught about weight are either heavily biased or just plain wrong! It’s a great read and I really do suggest you check it out of you haven’t already. Once you’re armed with the knowledge you’ll be in a better place to do what feels right for your body. Hopefully, at that point you’ll say goodbye to dieting forever!
Want to find out the truth?
Linda Bacon’s book is something I recommend everyone reads. The information is so vital to counter the ever present diet culture that plagues our lives every single day. There’s a link to the book at the beginning of this article but if you’d like a few more then subscribe and get my top tips to ditch diet culture, a list of body acceptance resources and my secret recipe for the best lemon muffins you’ll ever eat!
Til next time Musers stay fabulous!
