It’s a new year and many have started on their resolutions, the two most common being starting your health and wellness journey.
Medical News Today, a health news organization that reviews articles with health professionals, 2023 article by Beth Sissan reviewed by Kathy W. Warwick, RDN, CDCES describes diet culture as a societal construct that pushes forth the idea that health is affiliated with a certain body type – most commonly one that is thin. Placing labels and behaviors surrounding food that deem them “good” or bad” ((Can we provide some context for medical news today? Is it an industry publication, a news blog, a research journal? – Matt))
This way of thinking pushes ideas that lead some people down the rabbit hole of negative self image and places individuals at risk of developing a possible eating disorder.
It is reported by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) that 9 percent of the United States population will have an eating disorder at some point in their life. Of those,only about 27 percent will receive treatment.
It is important to note that eating disorders are not all about losing weight but can have emotional reasoning behind them as highlighted in the 2003 PBS documentary “Perfect Illusions: Eating Disorders and the Family.” The eating disorder becomes a way to cope with such problems. Annie, one of the individuals the documentary follows and a then recovering eating disorder patient describes “…the nature of the eating disorder is that it’s a coping mechanism and it masks a lot of things and it masks problems it masks parts of that person that they don’t like.”
The ideology shaped by diet culture gives way to a variety of fad diets that make promises of health and the idea of your ideal body but in reality the stuff they offer is not only unrealistic but also harmful as it places fear towards certain foods and food groups.
The Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit medical center that seeks to “integrate clinical and hospital care with research and education”, one of their article published in 2023 points to a variety of tell-tale signs of a fad diet:
- Places emphasizes on a specific food with alleged miracle properties
- Places more importance on specific food groups while advising against others
- Completely eliminating food groups such as carbohydrates
- Scheduled eating, only eating certain foods at certain times
This demonization of food leads many to feel restricted and confined to an unsustainable diet that pushes a miracle cure that will never come.
When embarking on your New Year’s wellness journey, don’t look for the quick fix that leads you to hating any and all diets. Not all modes of dieting are “wrong” but rather some prey on your insecurities that feed into the system of diet culture you’ve been fed.
Begin your journey by establishing what is attainable to you, what are you capable of.
The University of Colorado Boulder Health and wellness page advises a small feed purge, removing the unqualified individuals who feel the need to provide unbacked advice. Going through your social media removing the buzz of fad diets and the demonization of certain foods. Following this purge of unback information seek out individuals who know what they are talking about backing their claims with their education rather than a confident voice, a study conducted under vague conditions.
Your weight does not determine your value, you are a human being deserving of kindness to yourself, you deserve to eat.
If you are struggling with an eating disorder or body image issues please seek help from one of the following resources:
- Mental health service here at Delta can offer you support. Go to the drop box and the third choice should be mental health services
- If you wish for something less close to home the ANAD offers several services including a helpline at (800) 375-7767
