5 Tips for Finding a Weight-Inclusive Medical Provider

Finding a new doctor or other medical provider is challenging in general, but finding someone who is weight-inclusive or Health at Every Size (HAES)-informed presents an additional obstacle. 

And because most recommendations for HAES-aligned providers are by word-of-mouth, it can make the search that much more difficult.

To make your search a little bit easier, we’ve got 5 tips for finding providers and navigating appointments. While these unfortunately don’t guarantee that you’ll receive weight-inclusive care, they can be a good starting point. Ultimately, it’s important that you find a clinician that you’re comfortable with.

1. Use the search terms eating disorders, fat-positive, weight-inclusive, or Health at Every Size. 

There used to be a HAES clinician database, but it’s currently under construction, so you’ll likely find yourself combing through large directories of providers. Many insurance companies have a directory of in-network providers, so this may be a good place to start. You can also use websites like ZocDoc, HealthProfs, HealthGrades, and CareDash and use the above search terms to try to filter out providers who fit the criteria you’re looking for. 

2. Be aware of these green flags and red flags.

When you look at a clinician’s profile, look at what they specialize in and be sure to read reviews.  Positive things to look for are specializations in eating disorders, mention of being weight-inclusive, inclusive language in the profile, and positive reviews. Warning signs include any specializations in weight loss, weight management, or bariatrics, board certifications in obesity medicine, low ratings, and negative reviews – especially if they imply any form of discrimination, including weight discrimination.

3. Include a note to the physician when booking your appointment.

If you book your appointment online, some practices have a box where you can type a note to the physician. It might be a box for reasons you’re coming in. In this space, you could write something like, “I’m very sensitive about my weight. I’d prefer not to discuss it at my appointment.” There’s no guarantee that everyone will read it and remember, but many do.

4. Try calling ahead.

Many larger healthcare groups have a scheduler who may not know the physician, but sometimes you can call ahead to tell the potential clinician that you follow Health at Every Size and prefer not to discuss weight and hear their thoughts about it. Depending on the doctor, your therapist or dietitian may be able to call ahead and let them know your story and not to weigh you or discuss weight at your appointment.

5. Advocate for yourself at your appointment.

While there are limited instances where a provider may need to know your weight (i.e. medication dosing or measuring growth in children), it’s often not medically necessary. If getting a weight is necessary, you can request a blind weight (where you step on the scale backwards). If it feels difficult to advocate for yourself at your appointment, you might find it helpful to write a small note letting your doctor know you would not like to discuss your weight. There are also “Don’t Weight Me” cards floating around on the internet that you could hand to your doctor.

We hope you find these tips helpful. We wish our patients didn’t have to go to such lengths just to receive evidence-based, compassionate healthcare and hope that more clinicians will endorse the weight-inclusive, HAES approach.