What Does A “Weight-Inclusive/Weight-Neutral” Approach Mean?
“An approach that emphasizes health and well-being without emphasizing weight loss”
…A more holistic, inclusive health framework!
When the medical community started to advise weight loss, it wasn’t because there was any scientific evidence linking weight to health, but because our culture had already created a desire for thinness and a bias against fatness.
Our society, as you may have noticed, equates thinness to health, happiness, attractiveness, and worthiness…. What we now call “diet culture.”
Diet Culture =
To be thin = you are morally superior
To be fat = you are unhealthy, lazy, and a failure.
AKA… our culture promotes dieting and weight loss as a way to achieve “status & worth.” We’re told that we have to eat a certain way and be a certain size to be “healthy.” Therefore, certain foods and certain body types are inherently better, while others are vilified.
“Focusing on weight detracts from the real source of health problems and can promote unhealthy behaviors related to food and exercise.” ~Alissa Rumsey
In a weight-centric healthcare system, a person who goes to the doctor for any type of medical issue is usually evaluated… “Judged”... first based on their weight, regardless of whether their weight is relevant to why they came in.
“Diet Cultures” approach to health from a nutrition perspective = restricting calories in order to lose weight.
This goes back to the assumption that thinner = healthier.
However, the research (not to mention clinical experience and people’s lived experiences) have shown that the weight-centric approach to health does not actually result in better health (especially when compared to a weight-inclusive approach).
ACTUAL Known Fact =
Bodies fight to stay within a certain individualized weight range. Not everyone is meant to have a BMI in the “normal” range (BMI - bull****.. for another blog post ;).
Everyone’s set point weight range is different (as much as people want to think/make you think otherwise). For some people, their natural set point weight falls into the “overweight” or “obese” BMI categories, and this is completely normal and healthy.
We are not all meant to have the same size bodies!!
Just as we are all not meant to have the same height, foot size, or hair color.
Body size diversity is NORMAL (and beautiful) within a population and is something that we can, and should, respect rather than try to change.
*It’s important to note that NO ONE is saying weight gain itself is bad, nor is difficulty losing weight a problem. Despite what our society has programmed us to believe, fat bodies are not bad!
What is involved in a weight-inclusive approach?
When we think of health risks that people can change…. It is their behaviors, NOT their weight, that have the biggest impact on health.
NOTE: Weight is NOT a Behavior!!
Eating a variety of foods & nutrients plus moving our bodies more can positively impact medical issues such as blood sugar, heart rate, and blood pressure even without any weight loss.
The challenge is that, because “diet culture” praises weight loss above all else, when people make beneficial behavior changes and don’t see weight loss, they think that what they are doing isn’t working and then they stop practicing these beneficial behaviors.
The Weight-inclusive/weight-neutral” approach offers an alternative to the weight-centric model of care.
It rejects the use of weight or BMI as a determinant for health and instead works to support people of all sizes in finding compassionate ways to take care of themselves, no matter what their size.
The focus is on health and well-being, rather than weight, and promotes positive physical and mental health behaviors through five principles:
Weight inclusivity
Health enhancement
Respectful care
Eating for well-being
Life-enhancing movement
*Everyone, regardless of their body size, can be working on health-related goals without focusing on changing their body size.
Citation:
Alissa Rumsey. (2023, January 13). What is health at every size (HAES)? an alternative approach to health. Alissa Rumsey. Retrieved February 2, 2023, from https://alissarumsey.com/what-is-health-at-every-size/
Further Resources
Website: https://alissarumsey.com/
Book: “UnApologetic Eating” https://alissarumsey.com/book/
Book: “Anti-Diet” https://christyharrison.com/book-anti-diet-intuitive-eating-christy-harrison