What is Diet Culture?
Diet culture has become an integral part of our society. Diet culture is a system of beliefs and socially-accepted behaviors that prioritize body weight and size over health and well-being. Diet culture constitutes an entire industry that perpetuates disordered eating and eating disorders. While diet culture is damaging for individuals from all walks of life, it is especially harmful to those recovering from an eating disorder.
by: Imogen Bylinsky
A diet in the context of weight management is defined as a plan that spans over a period of time in which one engages in abnormal or restrictive food behaviors in an attempt to lose weight. Diets are extremely harmful to both physical and mental health, as the act of dieting disconnects the individual from their innate hunger and fullness cues and instead relies on external factors to determine what and when to eat. Dieting removes the pleasure of eating food and alternately causes the dieter to develop a more restrictive attitude toward food than an enjoyable one. Diets promote a negative relationship between food and body image, which also heightens vulnerability for the development of an eating disorder or disordered eating.
Despite the fact that diets are extremely harmful and deprive one’s body of essential nutrients, they are incredibly prevalent in society today. Which poses the question: why are diets so popularized and even normalized in our culture? Why do children as young as eight begin dieting? Why do people gravitate towards dieting instead of other healthier alternatives (exploring intuitive eating, developing a healthy relationship with food?) And the answer to all these questions is — diet culture.
As stated previously, diets are extremely taxing on the mind and body. The reason diets are becoming more widespread and accepted is that our society actively promotes and endorses diet culture, which, in turn, further perpetuates the prevalence of disordered eating and eating disorders. It is impossible to pinpoint a particular individual for the cause of diet culture, because in reality diet culture exists through a messy cycle of corporations capitalizing off insecurities, and individual consumers ingraining these notions and unrealistic standards onto themselves and others.
For example, social media and influencers play a large role in upholding diet culture. Many influencers photoshop their photos and contort their bodies in unrealistic proportions. And oftentimes, these same influencers that push unrealistic body-standards capitalize off this attention by promoting harmful dieting products. Products such as “flat-tummy tea” or “flat-tummy lollipops” are just some of the extremely harmful dieting products, which promote excessive, unsustainable weight-loss. Oftentimes, consumers are unaware that these photographs of models, “claiming these lollipops truly work”, are actually fake and photoshopped. And this common cycle highlights the toxicity of diet culture; how diets promote an unhealthy relationship with food and body image, as well as uphold a standard that is unrealistic for anyone to achieve.
This is not to say that social media and diet influencers are the only groups that are responsible for diet culture. In reality, no single person or even corporation is. It is a constant cycle that can be perpetuated through many different facets of life: individuals, school, sports, dance, pop-culture, music, magazines, and many more. Diet culture is invisible but once someone gets entranced by the false advertising of diets, it can be difficult to break from the cycle. There is no quick-fix to free your brain of diet ideology, and that is what makes this culture so dangerous.
It is important to be aware of and identify the harmful tactics and schemes that diet culture promotes. And instead, have a counter alternative that promotes healthy and nourishing behaviors that support the overall wellbeing of your body and foster a healthy body image. For example, individuals who may have struggled or are struggling with restrictive eating or an eating disorder may benefit from structure surrounding their meals (such as set meal times or following a meal plan provided by a treatment team); for others, structure can be triggering and they may prefer to eat more intuitively. It is good to explore and discover what healthy approach to eating makes you feel the best.
If you suspect that you or someone you know may be struggling with disordered eating or an eating disorder, know that recovery is possible and help is available. At BALANCE eating disorder treatment center, we are dedicated to treating the spectrum of eating disorders, including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, compulsive overeating, and other disordered eating behaviors and body image issues.
We offer a variety of programs and services targeted at helping clients overcome disordered eating and develop a healthy relationship with food and their body. We offer nutrition counseling with a licensed dietitian, meal support, a Food & Mood Group, and a variety of other groups and resources to help those seeking help for food concerns. Additionally, we offer a Body Image Group to help clients heal their body image and understand how to practice emotional regulation and self-compassion.
Our admissions team would be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding our programs & services. Book a free consultation call below or read more about our philosophy here.
This post was written by BALANCE blog intern, Imogen Bylinsky.
Imogen is a high school student from New York City with a passion for writing and speaking about mental health issues, specifically eating disorders. Growing up, she became increasingly aware of the stigma and hurtful stereotypes associated with eating disorders. She is interested in majoring in Psychology after taking an “abnormal child psychology” course at Brown University. Along with BALANCE, she volunteers with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and Project HEAL, an eating disorder organization. She specifically wants to address how eating disorders are portrayed in the media, pop culture, various races/ethnic groups, and gender. She is excited to be writing for the BALANCE blog!