Size-friendly nutrition has body positivity principles at its heart but is not part of the body positive movement.
The body positive movement was set up to provide equality of access to marginalized bodies, particularly larger bodies. It is a movement about human rights, regardless of how a person might feel about their body, or whether they are working towards a health-related outcome.
Size-friendly nutrition absolutely endorses the principles that all bodies deserve equality of access to clothing, seating, transport, public facilities, healthcare and more, and that none of this should depend on how either the individual or the society around them views their body. But I am not a political movement nor do I aspire to be. I also recognise that I have a great deal of privilege, and feel that people with less privilege have more right and more need to occupy the body positive space.
Body positivity is for every marginalised body, whether or not the person living in that body has health goals. Size friendly nutritional therapy is for people who would like to support their health goals with food, especially for people in larger bodies, who are often mistakenly believed not to care about their health.
That’s why I’m committed to working with people who’ve been body shamed by health professionals.