HEALTH AT EVERY SIZE (HAES)
HAES is an approach to public health that seeks to de-emphasize weight loss as a health goal, but rather encourages healthy eating and exercise as a means for overall physical and mental wellness and enjoyment. In doing so, it reduces the stigma towards people who live in bigger bodies. HAES rejects diet culture and harmful tools such as BMI, and instead affirms a holistic definition of health- that takes into consideration the presence of physical or mental illness, and external/environmental factors- on a continuum that varies for each individual.