A seminar challenging the conventional wisdom linking body weight with health will be held in the North East this month.

Featuring Australian advanced dietitian Dr Fiona Willer, who is on a mission to empower health professionals to adopt weight-neutral practices, the seminar will explore the pervasive weight stigma that creates barriers to health-supporting behaviours like nourishing eating and regular movement.

The seminar will include a panel of local experts, including psychologists, dietitians, youth workers, health promotion officers and individuals with lived experience who will share insights and practical strategies for promoting health at every size in their respective fields.

Dr Willer said size-inclusive practice supported someone in the body they have and addresses the presenting complaint, without requiring weight change first.

“Size-inclusive practice understands weight is not nothing but the only thing relevant about it is how they’ve been treated because of it,” Dr Willer said.

“The evidence shows us that body weight doesn’t always reflect a person’s health but many believe that higher body weight equals poor health so look to weight loss as the key to better health and disease prevention.

“We want to help doctors, allied health professionals and all those people working in health-related field to learn how to create environments that support people of all shapes and size in optimising their health and wellbeing.”

The seminar will look at the principles and benefits of a size-inclusive framework in healthcare and aim to dismantle the outdated “food police” perception of dietitians.

It is complemented by a workshop led by the Health Promotion Team at Better Health Network on the Toward Size Inclusive Resource tailored for health promotion professionals.

The seminar, being held in Wodonga and Wangaratta on October 23 and 24 respectively, is presented by Gateway Health in partnership with Women’s Health Goulburn North East.

A limited number of tickets are still available at https://events.humanitix.com/size-inclusive-seminar