Medical weight bias assumes illness for fat people and assumes wellness for thin people. By over focusing on weight instead of more relevant data points —like heart rate, sleep habits, family history, sociological stressors—we aren’t addressing systemic root issues. We can’t operate from a one-size-fits-all definition of health."
This quote from Carise Rotach, Equip’s Therapy Manager, gets at one of the core tenets of The Health At Every Size, or HAES, approach. HAES has roots all the way back to the 60s and has been a growing movement ever since. It’s a framework that decouples weight and health, pushing back on anti-fat bias and stigma.
Some key principles to the HAES approach include:
• Using alternative metrics, other than weight/BMI, to measure health
• Unlearning the pattern of recommending weight loss as a cure-all for illness
• Ensuring appropriate medical care to every patient, just as they are
Challenging narratives around body ideals and fatphobia
Curious to learn more? Check out our recent article featuring Rotach, to read examples of the HAES approach in action.
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Senior healthcare leader focused on high quality, affordable, and equitable healthcare benefits. National healthcare and leadership speaker. Proud Air Force retiree.
1moTreating obesity as a chronic disease is critical. It's also important for employers to not be shortsighted as mentioned in the article, but to look at all data - not just pharmacy costs. What's happening with medical spend, with pharmacy spend, with primary care visits, with workers compensation claims, and even employee performance.