Finding Breath: Using Counter Narratives to Resuscitate the HAES® Framework of Care

This is the second in a three-part series examining the past, present, and future evolution of the Health at Every Size® framework of care. Folks who missed part one are welcome to join this session as well, as each session can also stand alone.

In part two, we dive deeper into using counter narratives to refocus our Health at Every Size® work to be by and for those most impacted by fatphobia. We’ll discuss the work ASDAH is doing to reclaim and reorient the Health at Every Size® Framework of Care. We’ll also cover how you can begin using counter narratives in your work today to begin divesting from white supremacist lenses too commonly used in the name of Health at Every Size® like healthism, nutritionism, and marginalizing those at the highest end of the size spectrum.

Learning Objectives:

Following this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. List three narratives of Health at Every Size® and describe if they are inclusive/liberatory or oppressive.
2. Name 1-2 action steps to practice within the HAES® Framework of Care.
3. Define the Medical Industrial Complex and one way it harms oppressed people.
4. Describe the political nature of Health and one way it harms oppressed people.

ani janzen (they/she) Bio:

ani janzen, MPH, RD, (they/she) is a fat activist and Health at Every Size® advocate in Minneapolis, MN. They are the proud co-founder and co-admin of the fat liberation group, Twin Cities Fat Community, which works to connect fat people through community and activism. They founded the Radical Health Alliance, a nonprofit with the mission of championing the multidimensional and weight-inclusive health of fat people in Minnesota. Through education, support, and advocacy, Radical Health Alliance strives to eliminate weight bias, increase access to health services, and protect people from weight discrimination. ani has a BS in Dietetics, a Masters in Public Health Nutrition, and their Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) credentials. As a fat person and health professional, Ani is most passionate about the intersection of access to healthcare and fat rights. They believe that fat liberation and HAES®, though they are different perspectives that aren’t always used in conjunction, are both necessary to truly create equitable healthcare for fat people.

Veronica Garnett (she/her) Bio:

Veronica Garnett, MS, RD, CC (she/her) is a registered dietitian, certified culinarian, and aspiring death doula with over 18 years of professional experience in healthcare advocacy. In her role as ASDAH’s Vision & Strategy Leader, she is committed to taking the organization to the next level and ushering in a new era of the Health at Every Size® movement that is truly inclusive and intersectional. Veronica has been featured in Self, Teen Vogue, Blavity, Black Enterprise, Condé Nast Traveler, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Huffington Post, Marie France, the New York Times, and Travel Noire. Veronica received her bachelor’s degree in nutritional sciences from Howard University, her master’s degree in nutrition education from Columbia University, and most recently, her associate’s degree in culinary arts from Hudson County Community College. In her free time, Veronica can be found spending virtual quality time with her family & friends, tending to her growing plant collection, cuddling with her fur babies, and exploring her new home city, Kigali, Rwanda.