It's best for the media to pretend like HAES doesn't exist  I disagree. Rather than treating HAES people like an "alternate way of thinking about things" they need to treat the HAES people the way the media has treated us: as disgusting, hateful assholes who want to harm people. The difference between them and us is that we see reality and are reacting to it, while they invent their own reality and react to that. The fat fuck who realizes he is a fat fuck and understands that it isn't really OK is still an immoral prick who deserves our ire, but the fat fuck who denies reality and thinks it's OK is actively harming other people and society. I mean, lawyers and doctors who give our shitty advice can be held responsible for it, and people who even remotely make it look they are doctors or lawyers can get in a boatload of shit for it. No, I think HAES is actively a threat to western civilization. At its foundation it is anti-science. HAES becoming a dominant philosophy about health would result in even more money wasted on obesity related conditions, lost revenues for businesses, fewer people able to participate in the physical defense of our society, and the general acceptance of bullshit that has no basis in actual science. Doctors that suggest it need to be prosecuted. People who promote it need to be shut down publicly by the various health organizations, and those that don't include strong disclaimers that they aren't health professionals need to be prosecuted for practicing medicine without a license.