Size Inclusive Health Australia

Home
Australia
Greenslopes, QLD
Size Inclusive Health Australia

Size Inclusive Health Australia brings together Australia's HAES® aligned health practitioners

Over recent years the interest in the Health at Every Size® and NonDiet approaches to health has greatly increased, with professionals from different disciplines undergoing training in using the approach. Ever increasing numbers of professionals are adopting a HAES® perspective in their clinical practice. The growth of HAES® interest reflects the great need in our culture for a different approach

to health and weight. What has been absent until now is a central place for HAES® professionals to connect, learn, and unite and for interested people to find a health professional who is fully trained and experienced. Size Inclusive Health Australia (formerly HAES® Australia) was created Australia’s by leading HAES® health professionals with this vision.

27/08/2026

I’m Rosie, Chair of Size Inclusive Health Australia. SIHA is run by and for larger bodied people, and our vision is for health systems that enable equitable health outcomes for larger bodied people. I’m here to talk about Fat Liberation Month.

I found myself at SIHA after feeling lost following the death of my younger brother. I kept circling one truth I didn’t want to face: to me, the cause of his death was shame. He was so ashamed of his body that he avoided health care — and the health system avoided him.

I came to SIHA hoping to make a difference for people struggling in the same way. I was trained as a nurse, but what I’d been taught about fatness and health didn’t feel like care.

To me, Fat Liberation starts with challenging stigma.

We have to confront our own internalised biases. That journey is ongoing. It’s not a switch you flick and suddenly everything feels safe and settled.
It’s not a door you open and you and everyone you love are relaxed and free.

Confronting your own internal bias is messy. It’s wading through shame, trauma, and words you’ve absorbed. It intersects with culture, education, employment, femininity and masculinity.

But when you start chipping away at those beliefs, something shifts. You begin to see a different approach. We are all at different stages of fat liberation and it means something different to each of us. We don’t all express it in the same way. It could be as simple as being brave enough to go to that book club. Everyone’s experiences of fat liberation are valid.

I can’t go without speaking to my colleagues in the health sector, especially those who have never been fat.

Hear us. We are more than half of the population. Fat folks are telling you our truths, and it’s vulnerable.

For centuries, the focus has been on changing our bodies.

But the war on fatness has failed. We have the science now, and it’s clear: systems and practices need to change.

Fat Liberation isn’t a destination. It’s a journey. We are finding love and acceptance for ourselves. And the health system needs to keep up.

Size Inclusive Health Australia collects lived experiences and advocates for communities that respect and celebrate all bodies.

23/08/2026

Size Inclusive Health Australia collects lived experiences and advocates for communities that respect and celebrate all bodies.

"For most of my life, I thought my body was the thing stopping me from living.

I learned that belief as a little girl. I believed there was something wrong with me because my body didn't look like other people's bodies. Every time I couldn't make my body smaller, I thought I'd failed. I never questioned whether the problem was the expectation, not me.

I was taught that life would begin once I became smaller.

So I waited.

I waited to buy the pretty dresses.

I spent years avoiding photos and hiding behind other people.

I waited to take up space.

I waited for a body that never came.

After decades of trying to make myself smaller, I now live in an even larger body. A lifetime spent chasing thinness never gave me the life I was promised. It only stole years of it.

Fat liberation made me realise something I wish I'd known decades ago.

My body was never keeping me from my life.

Shame was.

Today, I still live in the same body that little girl spent so many years trying to change.

It became everything I was taught to fear.

It is now larger.

It is now disabled.

It now carries chronic pain.

But it's also the body that got me here.

I no longer see my body as something to fight against.

I see it differently now.

It gave me my children.

It let me watch them grow.

It let me comfort them.

It let me cuddle them.

It let me cover their tiny faces with kisses.

It carries me to the ocean.

It lets me feel the breeze on my face.

It lets me hear the waves.

It lets me watch another sunrise.

This is the life I spent so many years waiting for.

It was here all along.

Sometimes I think about the little girl who spent so many years believing she had to become smaller before she deserved a full life.

I wish I could tell her what I know now.

That her body was never the problem.

That she deserved to buy the pretty dresses, be in the photos instead of hiding from them, walk along the beach, take up space and experience joy exactly as she was.

Fat liberation didn't teach me to love my body every day.

It taught me that my body never had to earn its worth in the first place.

It taught me to see my body for what it has always been:

The vehicle through which I experience love, joy and awe."

www.sizeinclusivehealth.org.au

19/08/2026

Welcome back to Size Inclusive Health Australia's Weight Inclusive Wednesday!

This week's we are highlighting a blog written by the wonderful Jo Money - Accredited Practising Dietitian, Clinical Director and Founder at Eat Love Live.

This resource outlines the diet culture that consumes our world, and breaks down practical strategies that you can do to fight diet culture day to day. It's an easy read and is informative if you feel helpless against the oppression of diet culture.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts 💛

Weight inclusive Wednesday is a regular share of weight inclusive, fat-positive and health promotion resources. Follow along, explore new ideas and find your people.

Got any suggestions? Just comment :)

Blog: How do you fight diet culture?https://www.eatlovelive.com.au/how-do-you-fight-diet-culture/

17/08/2026

Celebrating Fat Liberation Month with perspectives shared by our volunteer and leadership team.

Join the Size Inclusive Health Australia community that respects and celebrates all bodies.

www.sizeinclusivehealth.org.au

11/08/2026

Here at SIHA, we're celebrating Fat Liberation Month for August!

Fat liberation in healthcare is a system where human rights of universal access to quality, affordable and accessible health services.

It should address the root causes of health disparities, including stigma and discrimination.

Are we there yet?

Not yet. But we can join together to advocate for change.

Join the Size Inclusive Health Australia community that respects and celebrates all bodies.

www.sizeinclusivehealth.org.au

05/08/2026

Welcome back to Size Inclusive Health Australia's Weight Inclusive Wednesday!!!

This week's we are shining a light on a recently published article by Ragen Chastain, Angela Meadows & Louise Adams.

GLP-1 medications for weight-loss: a triumph of marketing over patient care calls out the growing medicalisation of higher-weight bodies and calls for greater attention to informed consent, weight stigma, and person-centred care. A valuable read for anyone advocating for healthcare that prioritises dignity, autonomy, and health over weight.

Check it out and let us know your thoughts 💛

Weight inclusive Wednesday is a regular share of weight inclusive, fat-positive and health promotion resources. Follow along, explore new ideas and find your people.

Got any suggestions? Just comment :)

Article: Ragen Chastain, Angela Meadows & Louise Adams (06 Apr 2026): GLP-1
medications for weight-loss: a triumph of marketing over patient care, Fat Studies, DOI:
10.1080/21604851.2026.2646492

31/07/2026

Just a reminder that size inclusive health doesn't look the same for everyone.

Join the Size Inclusive Health Australia community that respects and celebrates all bodies.

www.sizeinclusivehealth.org.au

15/07/2026

Welcome back to Size Inclusive Health Australia's Weight Inclusive Wednesday!!!

This week's feature is an incredibly thoughtful picture book to help children, particularly girls, develop a positive relationship with their body. It's Love Your Body by Australian author Jessica Sanders and it celebrates body diversity, challenges appearance-based ideals, and encourages children to appreciate their bodies for all they can do.

Foster body respect, self-compassion, and conversations that support children to grow up free from body shame.

Have you read it or shared it with your little ones? We'd love to hear what you thought. 💛

Weight Inclusive Wednesdays is a regular share of weight inclusive, fat-positive and health promotion resources. Follow along, explore new ideas and find your people.

Got any suggestions for future Weight Inclusive Wednesdays? Just comment :)

Cover image of book © White Lion Publishing, used for review purposes.

07/07/2026

When traditional healthcare thinks about health, we often look at numbers: blood pressure, test results, or weight. But true wellness is much bigger than a metric. If we look at the World Health Organization (WHO) definition, health is a full intersection of physical, mental, and social well-being. To actually achieve this in practice, we can shift our focus toward Values-Based and Goals-Based Care.

Here is what that means:

✨ Values-Based Care
This is about why your health matters to you. It aligns your healthcare with your core personal values, like autonomy, family, connection, or joy. It asks: What makes a meaningful life for you?

🎯 Goals-Based Care
This is about how we get you there. Instead of standard, weight-centric checklists, we focus on functional, life-enhancing goals.

More of: "Let's build the strength and stamina to play with your kids at the park without pain."

Less of: Well... you know.

When healthcare respects your size, honors your values, and supports your unique life goals, it stops feeling like a chore and starts feeling like true well-being.

🙌Let’s change the conversation.

What does a health goal look like for you when weight isn't part of the equation? 👇

Address

PO Box 201
Greenslopes, QLD
4120

Website

http://sizeinclusivehealth.org.au/, http://sizeinclusivehealth.org.au/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Size Inclusive Health Australia posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Size Inclusive Health Australia:

Want your organization to be the top-listed Non Profit Organization in Greenslopes?