The Rise Of Diet Culture

If you spend time worrying about your weight, flit between diets, pseudo- diets and lifestyle plans, or feel guilty about simply eating, it’s time to give yourself a break.

- Caitlin Geng

Many of us spend so much time trying out new diets, struggling to stick to current diets, depriving ourselves of certain foods, talking about how much weight we want to lose and stressing over calories and carbs, that we’ve come to accept ‘diet culture’ as the norm. We attach feelings of shame to eating, which translates to feeling shameful about our bodies. According to nutritionist Laura Thomas, PhD, there is another way, which she explains in her book, Just Eat It.

Diets and disordered eating

Laura says, ‘(Diet culture) demands thinness no matter what the cost on our mental or physical health. A simple way of thinking about it is the culture that upholds the thin ideal as the standard of beauty.’ She explains how this culture can keep women in stasis, as our obsession with ‘reaching this arbitrary ideal’ means we put our lives on hold, putting off everything from dating and wearing certain types of clothing to running around with the kids – ‘I’ll start living my life once I lose weight.’

According to Laura, eating behaviours are categorised between intuitive eating, disordered eating, and clinical eating disorders. Generally, intuitive eating encompasses:

Not having food rules.

Not excluding things from your diet unless there’s an allergy, ethical or religious reason.

Not feeling anxious or stressed about food.

Not feeling guilty about eating foods you enjoy, like cake or crisps.

Having flexibility in your eating. Enjoying food.

Tuning in to your hunger and fullness signals, most of the time.

Eating foods that make you feel well and energised, most of the time.