Health at Every Size

Abstract

Weight-neutral approaches have gained traction over the past decades. These perspectives challenge dominant weight loss paradigms by foregrounding how a focus on health need not be accompanied by an injunction to reduce body size. This chapter explores the roots of the Health at Every Size® (HAES®) paradigm as one weight-neutral approach to positive embodiment. Evidence is reviewed for the effectiveness of HAES, highlighting how it often outperforms weight loss approaches in promoting health and well-being; some recently raised concerns are discussed, including the potential for healthism in an approach that emphasizes health. Finally, it considers how strategies for self-compassion and self-care can be accompanied with parallel efforts to promote social justice for people in all bodies, including bodies marginalized along lines of gender, race, class, ability, and so on. Sustainable gains in promoting positive embodiment must be achieved by advocating for body acceptance at the individual and collective levels.