Feel the HAES®? What Every Social Worker Needs To Know About the Health at Every Size® Framework
by Samuelle Voltaire, MSW
The Health at Every Size® (HAES®) framework, grounded in social justice, aligns well with social work values and ethics. Here’s how you can start putting it into practice.
Maybe you’ve heard of it before from a colleague working in eating disorder treatment and recovery. Like me, maybe you learned about HAES through the body-positive movement. Maybe this is your first time ever hearing about HAES. However you ended up hearing about HAES, it’s time that you got more acquainted with this framework that combines an inclusive understanding of weight, health, and nutrition with social work values and ethics.
As social workers, our values lie in social justice and honoring the dignity and worth of people (National Association of Social Workers, 2017). We are called to challenge and remedy the impact of discrimination as it occurs and in its many forms – including fatphobia. For those of us working in the medical or public health realm of social work, this may seem particularly difficult to conceptualize when so much focus has been on framing obesity as an epidemic and promoting various weight management methods.
I wonder, though, what would happen if we leaned into our social work values to help our clients build healthier lives? What if we approached health and nutrition in a way that respects clients' self-determination, encourages critical awareness, and incorporates compassionate self-care? The HAES framework can help us do just that. With this framework, rather than viewing weight loss as the solution, creating a healthy and intuitive relationship with food is the goal. Practitioners serve as guides to break down the barriers that impede clients’ abilities to engage in healthy behaviors.
The Association for Size Diversity and Health lists five principles that are key to any HAES approach. They are weight inclusivity, health enhancement, respectful care, eating for well-being, and life-enhancing movement (Association for Size Diversity and Health, 2019). How might these principles be utilized in social work practice? These questions can help get you started.
Weight Inclusivity
Do you find yourself pathologizing certain sizes while idealizing others? How do personal biases of weight affect your work with individual clients, client groups, or communities?
Health Enhancement
Do you advocate for health policies that are holistic and have a positive impact on individuals and their communities, such as expanding access to mental health services, establishing produce incentive programs at farmer’s markets, or providing culturally relevant nutrition education?
Respectful Care
Are you acknowledging and working on your weight biases? Are the resources that you offer clients intersectional? Is the physical setting where you may meet with clients welcoming of all sizes and abilities?
Eating for Well-Being
If you are in a health or public health setting, do you encourage client self-determination based on individual nutritional needs, or do you promote weight controlling plans?
Life-Enhancing Movement
Are you supporting enjoyable physical activity that is inclusive of various abilities? How is physical activity promoted by you or your organization?
The HAES approach is a valuable framework that can positively change clients’ lives as well as how we think about weight and food. Don’t just take my word for it. There are several resources available to help social workers put this client-centered, social justice focused framework into practice.
References
Association for Size Diversity and Health. (2019). The Health At Every Size® Approach. Retrieved from The Association for Size Diversity and Health: https://www.sizediversityandhealth.org
National Association of Social Workers. (2018). Code of Ethics. Retrieved from National Associationof Social Workers: https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English
Resources and Further Reading
Bacon, L. (Ed.). (2019). Resources (Organized by Topic). Retrieved from https://lindabacon.org/_resources/resources-organized-topic/
Harrison, C. (2016, October 26). Health at Every Size Resources for Health & Wellness Professionals. Retrieved from https://christyharrison.com/blog/health-at-every-size-for-health-professionals
National Eating Disorders Association. (2018, February 22). Size Diversity & Health at Every Size. Retrieved from https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/size-diversity-health-every-size
Samuelle Voltaire, MSW, is a recent graduate from the School of Social Policy and Practice, and a current Master’s in Public Health student at the University of Pennsylvania. Samuelle has years of experience providing mental health crisis intervention services, as well as working in community informed public health research. She is interested in how culturally sensitive community health initiatives can promote healthy practices.