Diet Culture: Exposition, Perpetrators, and Solutions

Writer: Sammie Garrity

Throughout our society people face a daily struggle known as “diet culture.” Diet culture is a misogynistic and patriarchal stereotype that typically promotes the idea that women should look a certain way to appease others. According to UCSD, diet culture is a “set of beliefs that values thinness, appearance, and shape above health and well-being. Additionally, the concept places importance on restricting calories, normalizes negative self-talk, and labels certain foods as ‘good’ and ‘bad.’” In today’s society, many people are self-conscious of a variety of things. Whether it is weight in general, acne, hair, cellulite, stretch marks, the list goes on. They are all things that people across the world constantly deal with.

In our current culture, image is such a big priority for many. With the rise of TikTok stars and Instagram models, looks are more important than ever. People make their living off of it. As these professions become more and more popular, people comparing themselves to others is becoming extremely common. Seeing images of people and wanting to look exactly like them is something that almost every single girl I know has done or actively does. The thoughts “I wish I looked like her” or, “she is so much prettier than me” are so common to hear. We often times forget that most of these people (however naturally beautiful they are), are photoshopping and FaceTuning their pictures before posting. We also lose sight of the fact that it truly doesn’t and shouldn’t matter what you look like. However, our society has placed value on how you look and treats you differently based on that. This fear of being judged leads to people buying tons of makeup, going on diets, and over-exercising to lose weight. All of these things are self-absorbed practiced that millions of people have fallen into the habit of doing because we subconsciously care so much about what others think.

The capitalist market is no stranger to diet culture. In fact, it thrives off of it. The weight loss market has been valued to be worth $192.2 billion and is expected to grow to almost $3 billion by 2027 (Woolfe). People pay for nutritionists to help them lose weight, they buy diet programs that don’t affect weight long term, they buy products promoted by stereotypically thin people, and that is just the beginning. People invest in makeup, in shapewear, and in “health-focused” foods. Big, corporate companies swim in the money of self-conscious teens and women. In short, they profit off of low self-esteem and the longing to be perfect. Organizations like Weight Watchers advertise a message that is geared towards a better lifestyle, but in reality, their process promotes restriction and skinny culture. It isn’t healthy for people to organize their lives around being thinner. A healthy lifestyle is accepting you for you. Eat a cheeseburger, go on a run, just do what makes you happy. Be healthy for yourself and not for anybody else.

On the bright side, a body positive movement has been getting increasingly more popular. Its sole purpose is to bring people up and grow everyone’s confidence. Helping to put people on the path towards body acceptance and celebration. Setting aside the discomfort of stretch marks and instead rejoicing in the beauty of them. Celebrities like Lizzo, Demi Lovato, and Rihanna are normalizing different body types and doing their best to spread the message of acceptance. They harness the power of social media— however ironic—for promoting positivity and not negativity. I know personally, as someone that has struggled with an eating disorder and the effects of diet culture, that it is so comforting to have role models to look up to that celebrate their body and are proud of the things that once caused them discomfort.