Healthy living can be confusing. I understand. We are surrounded by dieting messages, food commercials, health halos, messages promoting a “war” on obesity, and weight loss ads, all of which can easily skew our view of health and what taking care of ourselves’ means. Many times we collect a view of health that “looks” the same. In reality, health cannot be evaluated by looking at someone because it is influenced by many factors including: genes, physical activity, food choices and environmental factors.
This is where the Health at Every Size (HAES) model can be helpful. HAES takes the key components of health and encourages people to practice lifestyles that reflect the healthy behaviors, regardless of where their weight ends up. This seems smart considering there is no research to support sustainable weight loss through dieting.
However, some people don’t agree with Health at Every Size. After recently attending a debate between two researchers Linda Bacon and John Foreyt, I came away thinking that HAES is misunderstood by many people including health care professionals. Following a HAES lifestyle doesn’t mean forsaking your health; it means embracing your health and nurturing your body.
Principles of HAES:
1. Accept Your Size- Appreciate the body you have. Self-acceptance empowers you to make positive changes for your health.
2. Trust yourself- Like toddlers, we all have an internal guiding system that lets us know when we are hungry, full, or have an appetite for something. Be your body’s expert/advocate and honor your cues.
3. Adopt healthy lifestyle habits. Find enjoyable ways to move your body and become more physically active throughout the day. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are satisfied. Tailor your taste to more nutritious, whole foods, while staying mindful that eating for pleasure and making less nutritious choices are still part of an overall healthy lifestyle.
4. Embrace Size Diversity- Humans come in all shapes and sizes. Beauty is not a one size fits all.
As you can see, HAES does not throw out people’s nutritional needs, promote lack of exercise, or advocate overeating. On the contrary, HAES promotes listening to hunger cues, finding balance between fueling our bodies nutritiously as well as for pleasure, and exploring physical activities that are enjoyable. After all, enjoyable exercise is sustainable exercise.
Research for HAES:
-Overweight people with health issues do not need to lose weight to gain better health. Ex: Studies suggest that physiological changes including reduced blood lipids and blood pressure as well as psychological changes decreased depression and increased self-esteem can be achieved through lifestyle modifications (exercise and improved eating) independent of body weight.
-Studies report that dieting is a strong predictor of future weight gain. Yes, you read that right. A study of adolescent females suggests that women who diet are 3.24 times more likely to become obese. UCLA research suggests that 2/3 of dieters regain more weight than was lost through dieting. A small study of college students suggests that dieters are more susceptible to weight gain than non-dieters. In a review of 10 prospective studies, 7 studies showed that dieting led to weight gain, 2 studies showed no change, and 1 study showed that dieting led to sustainable weight-loss.
-Overweight people do not die sooner than the leaner population. The National Health and Nutrition surveys of the US population suggest that the overweight population was not associated with excess deaths when compared to the normal weight populations.
What do you think about HAES? Everyone is entitled to a healthy and enjoyable life. Yes, it takes some planning and some work, but it doesn’t have to be discouraging, shame based, weight centric, or guilt driven. It is just your choice to start adding more whole foods, movement, and mindfulness to your day. Little changes equal big steps toward your health regardless of what any number on the scale or a pair of pants say.
This post is by Janet Zimmerman, a University of Memphis Nutrition Student and Schilling Nutrition Therapy, LLC Intern. You can follow Janet on Twitter as well at http://twitter.com/JanetZimmerman
