Our Mission

As an organization, we are:
Firmly HAES® aligned (HAEScommunity.com), fat positive, and inclusive,
Committed to anti-racist learning, growth, and action, and strive to uphold anti-oppressive frameworks,
LGBTQ+ affirming,
Affirming of all gender identities and expressions, and
Social justice oriented.

Our goal is to strive to cultivate greater safety for marginalized individuals while also creating a brave space for our members to learn and grow. 

We will provide information and education to sufferers, their families and loved ones, and the general public about the wide array of eating disorders.

We will educate professionals in health care, mental health and related disciplines by providing accurate and timely information about eating disorders, so that they may better serve their patients.

We will plan and hold periodic meetings and conferences about eating disorders for both professionals, and the general public.

We will establish and promote prevention programs in schools, institutions, businesses and industries, and in the community at large.

We will conduct research into specific areas of eating disorders to help expand knowledge of the field.

We will recruit and train volunteers who will provide reduced fee or low cost initial consultations so that persons, who have realized they have a problem, can seek professional advice.

We will develop support groups to assist individuals and their families as a person recovers from an eating disorder.

We will develop education and related materials to meet special needs.

We will network with other individuals, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies who share our mission and goals.

As an organization, we are committed to the Health at Every Size (HAESⓇ) philosophy. 

The Association for Size Diversity and Health defines HAESⓇ as:

The Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH) affirms a holistic definition of health, which cannot be characterized as simply the absence of physical or mental illness, limitation, or disease. Rather, health exists on a continuum that varies with time and circumstance for each individual. Health should be conceived as a resource or capacity available to all regardless of health condition or ability level, and not as an outcome or objective of living. Pursuing health is neither a moral imperative nor an individual obligation, and health status should never be used to judge, oppress, or determine the value of an individual. 

The framing for a Health At Every Size (HAES®) approach comes out of discussions among healthcare workers, consumers, and activists who reject both the use of weight, size, or BMI as proxies for health, and the myth that weight is a choice. The HAES model is an approach to both policy and individual decision-making. It addresses broad forces that support health, such as safe and affordable access. It also helps people find sustainable practices that support individual and community well-being. The HAES approach honors the healing power of social connections, evolves in response to the experiences and needs of a diverse community, and grounds itself in a social justice framework.

The Health At Every Size® Principles are:

1. Weight Inclusivity: Accept and respect the inherent diversity of body shapes and sizes and reject the idealizing or pathologizing of specific weights.
2. Health Enhancement: Support health policies that improve and equalize access to information and services, and personal practices that improve human well-being, including attention to individual physical, economic, social, spiritual, emotional, and other needs.
3. Respectful Care: Acknowledge our biases, and work to end weight discrimination, weight stigma, and weight bias. Provide information and services from an understanding that socio-economic status, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, and other identities impact weight stigma, and support environments that address these inequities.
4. Eating for Well-being: Promote flexible, individualized eating based on hunger, satiety, nutritional needs, and pleasure, rather than any externally regulated eating plan focused on weight control.
5. Life-Enhancing Movement: Support physical activities that allow people of all sizes, abilities, and interests to engage in enjoyable movement, to the degree that they choose.

To learn more about HAES and the HAES philosophy, please visit: https://www.sizediversityandhealth.org/index.asp

All board members below have made the above commitment, which includes representing ourselves in professional and public environments, including in person, virtually and online, according to these values. At the discretion of the board, any harmful statements or actions by members may result in the requirement of open discussions about the harm in question, and engagement in accountability processes. The board may also take further action, such as removal of members from the CTEDS website and/or withdrawal of membership.