For large people, health can be a complicated subject. Even if people are healthy, even if they eat right, get plenty of exercise, and take good care of themselves, plus-size people are often judged to be unhealthy. This judgment can come from strangers, friends, family, employers, or even health care professionals.

One of the goals of our organization is to separate the issues of weight and health. Weight is a characteristic of the body. It is not a behavior. You can’t tell by looking at a person how much or how little that person eats. You can’t tell from a person’s weight whether he or she is physically active or not. And you can’t tell from a person’s weight how healthy that person is.

We endorse the Health At Every Size approach, and encourage people to be as healthy as they can be at whatever size they are. Instead of weight loss, we encourage people to make changes in their nutrition, in their physical activity, in their lifestyle, in their self care, and in the kind of professional health care they receive