Health at Every Size®, A Series Part 3: How To Find a HAES-Aligned Provider Who Won’t Just Tell You To Lose Weight
It can be a challenging process to find a HAES-aligned health care provider. Unfortunately, there’s no magic filter on Zocdoc or a completely comprehensive database to search. However, here are some suggestions to get you started:
Search by keywords: a helpful place to start may be to search for the type of practitioner you’re looking for (i.e. “OB/GYN” or “orthopedist”) along with the following keywords: “HAES,” “weight neutral,” “weight inclusive,” or “non-diet.” Another sign that a practitioner may be HAES-aligned or at least open to the HAES philosophy is if they appear to acknowledge stigma and privilege in other areas (including race, perceived class status, ability, gender and sexual orientation).
Red flags: if the practitioner’s site mentions “weight loss” or “weight management,” you may want to steer clear. Additionally, practitioners that list “Board Certified in Obesity Medicine” or other mention of obesity, there’s a high likelihood that they will be focused on weight.
You can also take the straightforward route: when calling to make an appointment with a new practitioner, you can simply ask, “I’m looking for a doctor who is willing to provide weight-neutral care. That means treating me without diets or weight loss advice of any kind, is there a doctor in this office who can do that?” You can also have a trusted family member, friend, or practitioner call on your behalf if you aren’t quite ready to take the step yourself.
In addition, there are some helpful resources online that can guide you in the right direction:
Our own (growing) database of HAES-aligned practitioners, for the tristate area (NJ, NY): Tory Stroker Nutrition HAES Provider Database
Mary Lambert created an amazing weight inclusive leads list, utilizing Tory Stroker Nutrition’s HAES Provider Database, plus more nationwide.
List of intuitive eating dietitians and other health providers; many include HAES in their list of specialties
Personally reviewed doctors in the NY area (please do your own personal vetting as these are purely anecdotal and may be out of date!): Fat Friendly Docs List
List of HCPs (mostly RDs and mental health practitioners, but also some physicians) aligned with HAES philosophy from Christy Harrison
A helpful article on one woman’s search for weight-neutral care:
Two threads courtesy of @yrfatfriend where folks have shared fat-friendly health care providers by location:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CG79bDSla7r/?igshid=1hdonx7gd2zng
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5QPkTglZnB/?igshid=1b121gklppi6h
To read more about the HAES philosophy, click here.
To read more about the benefits of working with a HAES provider, click here.