Health at Every Size (HAES)

Question 1

definition of HAES

Answer 1

HAES supports people in adopting health habits for the sake of health and well being rather than weight control

Question 2

HAES encourages

Answer 2

eating in a flexible manner that values pleasure and honors internal cues of hunger, satiety, and appetite; finding the joy in moving one’s body and becoming more physically vital; accepting and respecting the natural diversity of body sizes and shape; listening to your body

Question 3

body mass index (BMI)

Answer 3

weight in kg divided by heigh in meters squared (measures weight with respect to height)

Question 4

BMI does not measure

Answer 4

body fat

Question 5

limitations of using the BMI to assess health

Answer 5

• doesn’t take into account muscle mass
• doesn’t give us the whole picture
• genetic disorders
• there are no different charts for males and females

Question 6

obesity related conditions include

Answer 6

heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer

Question 7

correlation does not equal causation

Answer 7

an important concept for understanding weight science

Question 8

epidemiologic studies don’t typically control for

Answer 8

fitness/activity, nutrient intake, socioeconomic status, body image, weight cycling

Question 9

weight cycling (yo-yo dieting) when your weight goes up and down is associated with

Answer 9

inflammation, hypertension, insulin resistance, and hyperlipidemia

Question 10

social determinants of health

Answer 10

socioeconomic status, accessibility, built environment, access to healthcare, location, pollution

Question 11

BMI between 25 and 35

Answer 11

lowest incidence of early death

Question 12

BMI greater than or equal to 25

Answer 12

overweight

Question 13

BMI greater than or equal to 30

Answer 13

obese

Question 14

people over 70 years old shouldn’t be below what BMI?

Answer 14

22 BMI

Question 15

different determinants of weight

Answer 15

genetics, diseases and drugs/medications, environment

Question 16

dieting

Answer 16

restrict oneself to small amounts or special kinds of food in order to lose weight

Question 17

weight focused interventions

Answer 17

when we are focused on reducing weight by reducing calorie intake and increasing exercise

Question 18

weight focused interventions may contribute to

Answer 18

weight cycling, increased risk for osteoporosis, increased chronic psychological stress and cortisol production, increased anxiety about weight, eating disorder behaviors, weight gain, and stigmatization and discrimination against fat individuals

Question 19

increased risk for osteoporosis

Answer 19

• not meeting your micronutrient needs when reducing calorie intake
• impacts bone health

Question 20

increased chronic psychological stress and cortisol production

Answer 20

self esteem, self image, body image

Question 21

increased anxiety about weight

Answer 21

• shame, failure, guilt
• creates negative correlation between your weight and your body

Question 22

eating disorder behaviors

Answer 22

• skipping meals
• counting calories

Question 23

ethics of weight based approaches

Answer 23

if dieting doesn’t work (long term weight regain) and yo-yo dieting is associated with negative health impacts then should we be encouraging people to lose weight?

Question 24

HAES = weight neutral

Answer 24

• encouraging healthy habits and attitudes
• taking the focus off of weight
• set point theory
• supporting people to feel good about themselves, no matter the outcome

Question 25

set point theory

Answer 25

• every person has a set point weight where they should be
• people can go up or down 10 pounds from the set point

Question 26

diet paradigm

Answer 26

-Weight: aim for a certain weight
-Food: good/bad, legal/illegal, quantity/quality determined by external source (calories, grams, exchanges)
-Physical activity: exercise to lose weight

Question 27

non-diet paradigm

Answer 27

-Weight: body will seek its natural weight when individuals eat in response to cues
-Food: all food is acceptable, quantity/quality is determined by responding to physical cues
-Physical activity: aim to be more active in fun and enjoyable ways

Question 28

drop out rate for the diet group in the RCT

Answer 28

41% drop out rate

Question 29

drop out rate for the non-diet group in the RCT

Answer 29

8% drop out rate

Question 30

HAES myth 1

Answer 30

the health at every size message is that everyone is healthy regardless of weight

Question 31

HAES myth 1 actual facts

Answer 31

• not everyone may be at the weight that is right for them
• however, efforts to lose weight are often futile and even harmful
• the HAES paradigm supports people in making good health choices regardless of size

Question 32

HAES myth 2

Answer 32

the health at every size message is that people shouldn’t be concerned about nutrition and activity

Question 33

HAES myth 2 actual facts

Answer 33

• eating and exercise habits are important components of health (weight is not)
• when eating based on internal cues, certain foods make you feel good and others don’t
• dietary variety is encouraged

Question 34

HAES myth 3

Answer 34

people who eat based on cravings will eat junk food all the time

Question 35

HAES myth 3 actual facts

Answer 35

• it’s the anticipation of dieting and guilt around eating that leads to feeling out of control around food
• humans crave variety

Question 36

organizations that promote HAES and fight against size discrimination

Answer 36

• national association to advance fat acceptance (NAAFA)
• association for size diversity and health (ASDAH)
• society for nutrition education and behavior