Health at Every Size
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
By Lenka Bilik
What Is Health at Every Size (HAES)?
Most of us have been taught that health equals weight. Health at Every Size (HAES) challenges that idea.
HAES is an approach used by therapists and dietitians that focuses on supporting health behaviours without making weight the goal. Instead of asking, ‘How do I make my body smaller?’ it asks, ‘How do I take care of my body in ways that are realistic, sustainable, and kind?’
Originating in the 1960s-70s, the HAES movement began as a reaction against weight stigma and bias, as well as the rise of diet culture. HAES challenged the medical establishment’s focus on weight loss as a key indicator of ‘health’ and pointed out the failures of dieting.
More recent studies comparing HAES to traditional weight-loss dieting showed that while dieting often leads to faster short-term weight loss, it rarely results in long-term sustainability and often causes weight regain. In contrast, HAES interventions, which focus on behaviour change (discussed further below) rather than weight, produce similar or better improvements in metabolic health markers (such as blood pressure and cholesterol) and superior improvements in psychological well-being, such as reduced disordered eating and improved body image.
So what does that actually mean?
1. Health is more than body size
Weight is only one piece of a very complex picture. Sleep, stress, mental health, trauma history, income, access to care, movement, nutrition, and genetics all play a role. Two people can be the same size and have very different health profiles.
2. Dieting often backfires
Many people are stuck in this cycle: restriction → cravings → overeating → guilt → ‘start again Monday.’ This is not a lack of willpower — it’s a normal biological response to restriction. HAES-informed therapy helps people step out of this loop by reducing rigid food rules and rebuilding trust with hunger, fullness and satisfaction.
3. Mental health is physical health
Body shame, food guilt and constant fear of weight gain create stress. That stress affects mood, hormones, sleep, and overall wellbeing. HAES includes body image and self-compassion as part of healthcare - not ‘extra’ issues.
4. Movement is for feeling better, not punishing yourself
In HAES, exercise isn’t about ‘burning calories’. It’s about supporting energy, mood, strength and function. The question shifts from ‘What burns the most calories?’ to ‘What helps my body feel good / better?’
5. You deserve respectful care at any size
People in larger bodies often have their concerns dismissed as ‘a weight issue’. When they visit the doctor, they may find their weight is automatically placed on the agenda, without their consent. HAES pushes back against this and supports access to healthcare without shame or blame.
What happens in HAES therapy?
HAES-informed therapy is structured, practical, and compassionate, with the goal of helping you build a more stable, less stressful relationship with food, your body, and your health.
Example key features of HAES-informed therapy include:
Understanding your history with food and your body. Therapy usually starts with your story, not your weight.
Stabilising eating (without strict rules). Rather than prescribing a rigid diet, HAES-informed therapists help clients to nourish their bodies regularly, notice hunger and fulness signals and reduce (or eliminate) the restrict–binge cycle.
Working with emotional eating - without shaming it. In HAES-informed therapy, emotional eating isn’t treated as a failure. It’s seen as a coping strategy that developed for a reason. Clients learn other ways to respond to their feelings – without banning food as an option.
Addressing body image distress. Client don’t have to love their body to be in HAES therapy. Often the starting point is simply reducing the daily mental battle. Here, the work involves understanding your current relationship with your body and moving toward body respect.
Redefining movement. If exercise has felt like punishment or a test of willpower, therapy helps rebuild a different relationship with movement. Clients explore movement that is appropriate for them, to sustain mood and function. Movement becomes something that supports their life - not something they have to earn.
Building self-compassion and body trust. Many people are trying to manage health through control and criticism. HAES therapy helps shift toward listening to your body and responding appropriately.
What clients typically find is fewer binge or “out of control” episodes with food, less food obsession, reduced guilt and shame around eating and their bodies, and more consistent self-care. Weight may change, or it may not. In HAES-informed therapy, that’s not the measure of success. The focus is on behaviours, wellbeing and quality of life.
