Health At Every Size Analysis

Criticism of Healthy at Every Size
On October 11th, 2008, nutrition professor Linda Bacon’s book,“Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight,” was published. Within the pages lies the “HAES Manifesto,” a short, three page pamphlet which details why fat individuals should learn to accept their weight. The manifesto’s end goal is to promote Health at Every Size, or HAES, a new “peace movement” to end the “war on obesity” (Bacon 274). Fat acceptance is not a new notion, the original movement dating back to the 1960s, but Professor Bacon’s particular brand promotes unique concepts, focusing on the health concerns of higher weights. The manifesto is well-intentioned, but some of its ideas are quite dangerous. Though it tries to
fight anti-fat social stigmas, Health at Every Size ultimately promotes dangerous lifestyle choices; as a result, several critics have risen to contest the misdirection of the movement.
The goal of the Health at Every Size movement, according to its United Kingdom branch, is to approach health from a way that is not reliant on body weight, and focus on “what healthy benefits and improvements can practically be achieved by individuals” (HAES UK FAQ). This is not a dangerous concept on the surface, as many individuals may be unable to lose weight due to pre-existing medical conditions or disabilities. In addition, focusing on health rather than weight might result in less people quitting their fitness routine, as the stress factor of having to fight the scale is removed.
That being said, when one looks past the surface, they find the real problem with this method of approaching fitness: a person who is morbidly obese, no matter how fit their lifestyle, me is still at risk for serious medical complications. Those who are obese and addicted to food will most likely look for any excuse to not change their lifestyle — convincing these impressionable individuals that they need not worry about their weight may lead to them thinking the ailments related to their obesity are perfectly acceptable. According to the University of Rochester’s Medical Center, morbid obesity can lead to respiratory problems due to “fat deposits in the tongue and neck” blocking air passages, Osteoarthritis from “additional weight placed on joints,” and high blood pressure due to fat restricting blood flow in the veins (What is Morbid Obesity?). These issues cannot be simply fixed by increasing activity; the excess fat is the root of the problem. Thus, it would be impossible to be healthy while morbidly obese. The problem with ignoring the scale is clear, but what does Health at Every Size have to say about diet?
In Professor Linda Bacon’s HAES Manifesto, she instructs people to trust themselves by following their bodies’ “signals of hunger, fullness, and appetite” (Bacon 277). To those people who enjoy being “in-tune” with their bodies, this might sound very nice — it’s logical to conclude that the body’s natural signals would correctly indicate how much food one needs, and that fullness is the body’s way of telling the brain it has had a healthy amount. Unfortunately, this is nothing more than an appeal to nature. As Takako Hara points out in his writing on hunger and eating, “despite strong beliefs that hunger is caused biologically, this motivation is controlled not just by physiology, but also psychology as well” (Hara). Humans will often feel hungry only due to the time on the clock indicating mealtime, even if they have already eaten. Additionally, Professor Bacon doesn’t account for eating disorders, such as Binge-eating disorder. According the National Eating Disorder Association, Binge-eating disorder, or BED, causes a “sense of lack of control over eating” (BED Overview). This lack of control leads to eating an unhealthy amount in a short timespan, despite any feelings of fullness or lack of hunger - this means that even if it were safe to listen to the body’s signals, there would still be risk factors regarding eating disorders, of which obesity is on the same
spectrum.
Besides listening to one’s body, the HAES manifesto also instructs overweight individuals to accept their size, and “love and appreciate” the body they have (Bacon 277).
This is a key point of Health at Every Size, as it is doing what many fat acceptance movements have done in the past: trying to fight anti-fat social stigmas, and put an end to fat shaming. It is true that fat shaming is very hurtful, and may lead to unnecessary emotional stress in the overweight. One study in 2014 found that “perceived weight discrimination was associated with relative increases in weight... and waist circumference” (Jackson). Additionally, one must question whether another person’s weight is any of his business. Perhaps the overweight person is already on track to weight loss, perhaps he is afflicted with a medical condition; no matter what the reasoning, unless the person is a close friend or family, it’s a matter of discussion between him and his
doctor.
That being said, there’s a problem with how Professor Bacon’s manifesto approaches acceptance. Fat shaming is dangerous, but teaching overweight people to love their bodies, no matter how unhealthy they are, is equally hazardous. If one is taught to love and accept their body for what it is, what reason is there to change anything? As another study conducted in 2014 found, motivation for adolescent weight loss might be found in a “desire for better health [or a] desire for self improvement” (Jensen et al). If a desire for self-improvement is necessary, then perhaps what overweight individuals need the exact opposite of love and acceptance; a harsh dose of criticism followed by positive reinforcement to change may be the correct way to approach the issue. Admitting one has a problem is the first step to him or her recovering from it, thus obesity must be treated as the serious medical issue that it has been proven to be.
Fat acceptance has been around for more than half of a century now, with supporters trying to find an end to the mistreatment of fat people, or an end to one of the last acceptable forms of discrimination. This is a noble cause, but it must be careful not to go too far. Healthy at Every Size is a very large misstep — a perfect example of taking acceptance to the extreme. Asking for courtesy and decency, and for people to mind their own business is harmless. To enable unhealthy, unscientific and dangerous ideas in people who have serious health problems is to go far beyond acceptance. Because of this, nearly every aspect of HAES is problematic, including its name, according to fitness journalist James S Fell. In an article on his website, he describes the movement as “a flawed concept... hamstrung by its very name,” because there is “no such thing as healthy at every size” (Fell). Perhaps the next best course of action for the fat acceptance community would be to disown the movement — the last thing a community made to help fat people should do is contribute to their harm.