Diet culture is often viewed and defined as a system of beliefs that equates health with weight, shape, and size, and “health” as a personal responsibility. Diet culture has taught us to view being “healthy” as morally virtuous, upholding anti-fat bias, thin privilege, and oppression towards individuals living in larger bodies. Diet culture has created a dichotomy with food, labeling it as “good” and “bad”, “healthy” and “unhealthy”, “clean” and “junk”; the list goes on! It views movement and exercise as the vehicle for weight and body control, in the pursuit of reaching the sociocultural idealization of thinness. It uses judgment, shame, and guilt, to convince people that living in a subjectively larger body is “unhealthy”, whereas being thin/fit/straight-sized is automatically “superior”.
Where Diet Culture Shows-Up
In many ways diet culture disguises itself in our everyday lives, reaching us from mediums such as the gym, TV ads, grocery stores, and social media. Companies use strategic language to advertise thin or “fit” bodies as the ideal physique, also known as the “thin ideal”. This leads to a society that celebrates certain sizes and shapes of bodies while degrading others. In a study on the influence of magazines on elementary school girls, 47% of them reported that the images make them want to lose weight, and 69% said the images influence their concept of the “ideal” body shape.
Because of diet culture, it’s possible that many of us have felt confused, ashamed, or rigid about our food choices. Diet culture has led to the glorification of restrictive eating patterns and feelings of guilt towards everyday consumption. This poses harmful implications as there is a greater attained risk of developing disordered eating symptoms/an eating disorder that stems from the sociocultural idealization of thinness.
Shifting Away From Diet Culture
As mentioned previously, diet culture can present itself in many ways, such as labeling food as “clean” or “guilt-free”. This can influence our perspective on how we view or connect with food. This becomes an added burden of guilt while eating and is how eating disorders may begin to develop. This stress also changes the way we view and speak of ourselves, creating feelings of insecurity or self-destruction.
Some unexpected situations where we might be exposed to diet culture, and therefore are at risk of harm, include:
- The gym or fitness facility. This may come in the form of selling an exercise program with the hopes and promises of looking a specific way. Gyms or fitness facilities often use special occasions such as holidays, weddings, or vacations to sell gym products.
- Grocery stores. Food companies often use front-of-package information and even product names to promote it as “healthy”. Words such as “superfood”, “skinny”, or “guilt-free”, as well as “low-fat” and “high protein” are not hard to find in the grocery store. Instead of emphasizing nutritional value, connections, and pleasure we should be experiencing while eating food, health, and morality are two very common marketing tactics.
- Social Media. Trends of “what I eat in a day videos” or demonstrating what “clean eating” looks like are all too common on various social platforms. Even passive consumption of this type of content can put individuals at risk for food and body comparison, especially those who are in recovery from an eating disorder, disordered eating, or dieting.
These are just a few specific areas of everyday life where you might come across diet culture messages. Societal pressures of restriction and control via “health journeys” are often promoted by diet culture.
Resisting Diet Culture
It is important to recognize the harms that diet culture poses and specifically for those who are more vulnerable, such as children, adolescents, and those living with an eating disorder. One study found that adolescents who engage in dieting or extreme food restriction are 5 to 18 times more likely to develop an eating disorder, as dieting was found to be the most reliable predictor of developing an eating disorder. We can start moving away from diet culture by being more attentive to the way we speak about ourselves, others and how we view food.
Recognizing that diet culture surrounds us, it is important to examine our own inherent anti-fat bias and adopt a more weight-neutral stance, learn from Health at Every Size, and size diverse communities. Adopting this approach is essential in the hopes of minimizing weight shaming and disengaging in diet culture trends and harmful practices.
Important Things to Consider
- Diet culture promotes unrealistic ideals and is harmful to all individuals.
- Food is for nourishment and should be enjoyed. Eating choices should be driven by preferences, access, and autonomy.
- Ditch the diet talk, especially if spending time in groups – our words do affect others. Rather, prioritize being mindful of how we speak about our bodies, the words we use, and how we speak to others.
- Surround yourself with people who uplift others and adopt more inclusive practices. It is imperative that we shift our priorities away from weight to focusing on embracing overall well-being. While diet culture can’t be entirely avoided, it starts by moving away with small steps and utilizing available support systems.
By challenging ourselves to change our perspective and outlook, we can appreciate accepting differences in how bodies look while diminishing healthism and sizeism, as all bodies and people from all walks of life are worthy of love, care, and respect.
How We Can Help
Diet culture can pose harmful implications to all individuals, but more specifically adolescents and teens. Change Creates Change is here to help. If you believe your child may be living with an eating disorder, you can book a free consultation call with us.
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