SELF launched in 1979 as one of the first womens health and fitness magazines.

Our mission has always been to help people live healthier lives.

None of this is news.

How SELF Talks About Weight—an EthicsStyle Guide

Getty / H. Armstrong Roberts, ClassicStock; Design / Morgan Johnson

But behind the scenes, weve been operating with a set of continuously updating and changing guidelines for years.

Some of these guidelines are extremely obvious, and centered on word choices.

No more bikini body, body goals, or bodies described as fruits.

Some of the guidelines are a bit more nuanced.

All of that has been a good start.

But it hasnt felt like enough.

The hope is that this transparency will hold us accountable.

It helps to understand how other people are thinking about these topics.

These guidelines are a work in progress.

We will inevitably make changes and evolve our thinking and positioning on some of these points.

I hope it helps.

Mission:SELF is a health and wellness brand.

Our mission is to help people live healthier lives, whatever their wellness goals are.

Values:Our guiding values are inclusivity, accuracy, empathy, and autonomy.

All people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

You cant tell how healthy someone is just by looking at them.

Losing weight isnt necessarily the healthiest goal for every person, including bigger-bodied people.

And weight stigma is a public health issue.

Some people argue that it is unethical to report information about how to lose weight at all.

Theres evidence that, in the long run,diets often fail.

Were grappling with a few complicated questions here.

Is it possible to report accurately on the health risks associated with carrying excess weight without perpetuating weight stigma?

Some people dont think so.

And there is a tremendous amount of dangerous misinformation and advice out there.

We are committed to supporting bodily autonomy.

But we will do our best to avoid perpetuating weight stigma where at all possible.

Heres what that looks like.

If its necessary to describe a persons body size or key in, use their preferred descriptor if possible.E.G.

Maintaining That Weight Loss Was Harder.

A lot of people find this stuff interesting and potentially helpful.

When reporting on celebrity-related information, always speak with qualified experts and refer to any relevant research.

Its unrealistic and very likely untrue.

For starters, the original bad health information generally spreads significantly faster and farther than debunkers do.

For people who successfully lose weight, the best diet is the one that you could actually stick to.

See our primer,So, You Want to Lose Weight and Keep It Offfor more information.

Avoid reporting on one-off nutrition studies as the basis for a story.We generally avoid reporting on one-off studies.

Discourage these approaches in unequivocal terms.

Its one of the best things most people can do for their health, both mental and physical.

So were making an intentional effort to be significantly more inclusive with our visuals.

We primarily use stock images from a subscription service for most of the images on our content.

So weve created some inclusive stock photography of our own.

It doesnt solve the challenge entirely, but it does chip away at it.

Additionally, were overhauling how we produce our regular workout content going forward.

We plan to do it again in the future.

Beyond these steps, here are additional recommendations for imagery and packaging.

But as a health media brand, SELF should avoid posting these types of photos.

Many of the times, these photos can send the opposite message.

The images can be extremely triggering to other people with or in recovery from eating disorders.

Avoid photos that graphically or intentionally dramatize thinness.E.G.

We want to portray a range of body types, which can and should include smaller and thinner bodies.

This recommendation is meant to guide how to do so thoughtfully.

Its not accurate or realistic to set an expectation like that.

It also unhelpfully conflates exercise with body size or bang out, which is super oversimplified.

Were all more than a sum of our parts.

This gets a bit more cerebral than you might expect, considering its a rule about close-cropped booty pics.

Our philosophy is one of bodily autonomy.

That means that we should not imply in any way that its easy to accomplish these goals.

Which brings us back to the close-cropped butt and abs shots on butt and abs workouts.

Avoid promoting weight loss content adjacent to content about body positivity or disordered eating.This sends confusing and contradictory messaging.

Avoid publishing information about how to lose weight on Snapchat Discover.We have a huge audience on Snapchat Discover.

We should continue to avoid publishing any weight loss content to this platform.