Diet Culture is Consuming Us

Cholesterol, carbohydrates, calories–those are words that many of us look out for when we read the nutrition label on grocery items. In our society today, these words have become ingrained into our minds as unhealthy factors that should be avoided. Who hasn’t heard a friend or a relative complain about “high-carb” or “high-calorie” foods? Regardless of whether or not they are professional nutritionists, people are becoming increasingly concerned with their food intake, often to extreme extents. 

Throughout history, people have come up with various diets in an attempt to combat their anxieties regarding unhealthy food. Some of these diets focus on reducing the consumption of certain ingredients while others eliminate entire food categories altogether. Especially in recent years, dieting has become more of a trend to be followed through the media rather than a healthy lifestyle to be pursued for one’s own good. Influencers with high followings on social media, including models and coaches, often promote a “one-solution-fits-all” diet and encourage followers to adhere strictly to their health advice. People naïvely follow these diets with the hope of solving all their health problems, but they often do not realize that there could be unintended consequences.

The keto and paleo diets, in particular, have become preferred choices for those aiming to lose weight. Originating in the 1920s, the keto diet was devised by modern physicians as a treatment for epilepsy by mimicking the metabolism of fasting. Scientifically, the keto diet alters how the body processes energy. According to Harvard Health, the diet “relies on ketone bodies, a type of fuel that the liver produces from stored fat,” rather than the sugar that comes from carbohydrates. Since then, it has evolved into a “trend” that focuses on low-carb and high-fat foods. In this diet, even fruits and vegetables are limited due to their high concentration of carbs. On the other hand, the paleo diet, also known as the caveman diet, aims to imitate the eating behaviors of our prehistoric ancestors. Supporters of this diet theorize that “the rise in chronic diseases in modern society stems from the agricultural revolution” and that we should instead be eating with the primitive diet of our ancestors to promote our good health. Similar to the keto diet, the paleo diet limits carb and dairy intake while also encouraging amounts of protein in the form of naturally raised meat and fish.

While keto and paleo do not fully represent the exhaustive list of diets out there, they certainly reflect the restrictive mindset that diets have in common—they aim to either restrict or completely eliminate food groups that they deem to be “unhealthy.” Whether it is carbs, fats, or dairy, the goal is to reduce one’s intake of certain macronutrients. The problem with this is that, by cutting out certain foods, one may be missing out on essential nutrients that contribute to their health. Taking keto and paleo as examples, these diets reduce carb intake, conforming to the popular belief that carbs are inherently bad for the body. However, carbs are the body’s main source of energy that fuel our organs and everyday activities. Furthermore, diets may have various health risks. The keto and paleo diets specifically are both high in saturated fat, which is needed to make up for the energy lost in carbs. Over time, people may see an increase in their cholesterol levels, along with a lack of nutrients. By avoiding vegetables, fruits, and grains, one is at risk for deficiencies in both micronutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, and macronutrients like carbs. In even more extreme cases, people may experience liver and kidney problems due to high fat and protein intake as well as constipation due to a shortage of fiber. While it may seem effective at first, overdoing these diets in the long run will cause the risks to add up.

Even more harmful than the health risks is the toxic culture surrounding these diets. The danger lies in the fact that they are advertised as miraculous weight-loss solutions when they are, in fact, medical plans that come with serious risks. Fad diets, which claim to easily improve health without robust scientific evidence, have taken a tight grip on our mindsets and habits. With the convenience of social media at our fingertips, it has become easy for creators to introduce countless fad diets to the public with a few clicks. The simplicity of this, however, creates a problem as the diets build up and circulate rapidly across the media. Viewers who stumble upon these diets on, say, their Instagram or TikTok feed feel a sense of hope. “Could this diet really help me lose all my excess fat? Could it solve my entire life’s health problems? It just seems too good to be true!” they might say to themselves. And they would be right: fad diets are too good to be true.

Too many individuals have fallen blindly into the trap of diet culture with high expectations and have come out disappointed. Advertised as effortless solutions for weight loss, these diets are misleading in their simplicity. Those who start dieting may expect their journey to be straightforward and easy, with no other challenge to worry about but their food. Once people begin, however, they begin to realize the difficulties associated with dieting. No longer is it the glamorized, romanticized meal plan that was promoted by online influencers. Instead, they realize that the diet has become much too restrictive and difficult to manage. Because of the extreme nature of many diets, people quickly lose motivation and give up on their goals. Not only does this leave them disappointed, but it also gives them the false impression that their health may never be improved. This may lead to an unhealthy cycle of dieting, restricting, and guilt, all of which contribute to the toxic mindset around dieting in today’s culture.

In addition to encouraging restrictive eating habits, diet culture is also associated with an obsession with physical appearance. Diet culture often promotes a set of beliefs that value slender body types, equating appearance and weight with health. Especially among younger generations who have increasing access to the Internet and social media, these ideas can take a toll on their mindset. This is particularly dangerous for children and teenagers who are developing, both physically in their bodies and mentally in their values. With an undeveloped perspective, they can easily be swayed to believe that their bodies do not fit into the societal ideals of the “perfect” body and fall into disordered behaviors.

In recent years, disordered eating has become a prominent issue among younger people, particularly college students. According to the American College Health Association, 44% of women and 27% of men diet to lose weight. More specifically, the National Eating Disorders Association claims that 10-20% of women and 4-10% of men suffer from eating disorders in college. While there are numerous reasons for these trends, including more independence, stress, and accessibility to healthy foods, online information about dieting and thinness undoubtedly contributes to the formation of disordered eating and body dysmorphia. 

Living a life of restriction, guilt, and dissatisfaction is not a pleasant feeling, but that is the difficult reality when it comes to many fad diets today. We have come into a world where dieting culture has distorted our perspectives on our food, body, and health. As it becomes easier to spread (mis)information on the Internet, the effects will only become more prevalent, especially influencing younger generations. Although diet culture seeks to provide quick solutions for weight loss and health refinement, it ironically does the exact opposite: it generates a negative stigma toward dieting and eating. Rather than misleading our society with ineffective fad diets and unrealistic body standards, we should be encouraging practices that are manageable and improve our health. We should be genuinely helping people reach their fitness goals rather than teaching them to be frustrated with their bodies and health. In this way, we may better deal with the health issues that burden our society and open up a future of well-being and inclusivity.

Sources

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