Dante Carrillo
Diet culture has been around in some form for centuries, with roots in Ancient Greece, where fitness and health were valued as a means of achieving a healthy mind. The Ancient Greeks also valued physical capabilities, which marked the beginning of diet culture's entanglement with the status quo. The first diet book, The Art of Living Long by Italian Luigi Cornaro, was published in 1558 and advised limiting food intake to 12 oz per day. However, it wasn't until the 19th century that dieting became primarily associated with weight loss and changing one's physical appearance. The term diet itself shifted in meaning in the early 1900s, transitioning from referring to the total amount of food consumed to implying restricted food intake for weight loss. The diet industry experienced massive growth after World War II, fueled by advancements in food and advertising technology, and further entrenched itself in society with the rise of social media.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| The first diet book | The Art of Living Long by Italian Luigi Cornaro in 1558 |
| The first low-carb diet | In 1825, in The Physiology of Taste or Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy by Billat-Savarin |
| Dieting as a way to lose weight | First appeared in the 19th century |
| Dieting fads | Have been around for 150 years |
| Dieting as a holistic approach to health | Emerged in Ancient Greece |
| Dieting as a way to differentiate from stereotypes | Became popular among white women in the 1890s |
| Diet industry explosion | After World War II |
| BMI as a measure of health | Used for decades |
| Weight loss drugs | Ozempic emerged in the early 2020s |
| "Diet culture" as a term | Likely emerged in the early 2010s |
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What You'll Learn
Ancient Greek origins
Dieting and diet culture have existed for centuries, with roots that can be traced back to Ancient Greece. The Ancient Greeks valued physical fitness and health, believing that a healthy body led to a healthy mind. This culture of fitness was reflected in their society, with athletic competitions and the birth of the modern Olympics as a cornerstone. However, the Ancient Greeks' concept of the ""ideal"" body was not based on visual physique, but rather on physical abilities.
The Ancient Greek diet was largely plant-based, with vegetables, legumes, fruits, and grains forming the staple diet of the ancient Greeks. Meat was less common, and the consumption of fish and meat varied according to the wealth and location of the household. The ancient Greeks also had a high regard for olive oil, which was used liberally in cooking, baking, and dressings. Wine was also an important part of their diet and culture, with a Greek god of wine, Dionysos, and wine served at all meals and throughout the day.
The Ancient Greeks' emphasis on physical health and their active lifestyles contributed to the development of the first diet books in the Western world. The idea of dieting as a holistic approach to physical and mental health emerged in Ancient Greece, marking the beginnings of diet culture. However, it is important to note that the Ancient Greeks' approach to diet was not solely focused on weight loss or changing one's body.
Over time, the concept of dieting evolved, and by the 19th century, dieting became primarily associated with weight loss and altering one's physical appearance. This shift was influenced by societal beauty standards and the development of scientific racism, which perpetuated anti-fatness and used body size as a means to justify racialised and gendered ideals. The diet industry further exploded after World War II due to advancements in food and advertising technology, exploiting women's insecurities and promoting harmful weight loss tactics.
Today, diet culture is deeply ingrained in society, perpetuated by social media and influencers. It has been commercialised and exploited for profit, contributing to a multi-billion-dollar industry that preys on insecurities and promotes unattainable beauty standards. While the Ancient Greeks valued physical health and fitness, the modern manifestation of diet culture has led to a preoccupation with weight loss and thin bodies, often disregarding holistic health and well-being.
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Dieting as a weight loss tool
Dieting as a weight-loss tool has been around for centuries, with its origins often traced back to Ancient Greece, where the concept of dieting emerged as a holistic approach to physical and mental health. The Ancient Greeks valued fitness and health, believing that a healthy body led to a healthy mind. However, it is important to note that their idea of the ""ideal"" body was not based on visual aesthetics, but rather on physical abilities. This early notion of dieting focused on health and well-being rather than weight loss or altering one's physical appearance.
The first diet book, "The Art of Living Long," was published in 1558 by Italian Luigi Cornaro. In it, Cornaro advised readers to restrict their food intake to 12 ounces per day and their wine consumption to 14 ounces. This book is still in print today. Other early texts, such as "The Fruits, Herbs, and Vegetables of Italy" (1614), promoted the benefits of a Mediterranean-style diet, which later became the basis for the modern Mediterranean Diet.
The term "diet" itself has evolved over time. Originally referring to the total amount of food and drink consumed, it took on a new meaning in the early 1900s, when it became associated with restricted food intake for weight loss or changing one's physical appearance. This shift reflected a growing emphasis on weight and body image.
The diet industry experienced massive growth, particularly after World War II, due to advancements in food and advertising technology, as well as increasing social, economic, and political pressures. During this time, the ideal American woman, as portrayed by pop culture, was expected to be happily married, have children, and manage the suburban home. This image of the ideal nuclear family relied on an idealized aesthetic, making housewives particularly susceptible to the messages of the diet industry.
The connection between moral virtue and thinness has a long history as well. Early Christians regarded the body as the enemy of the soul, and practitioners in the Middle Ages engaged in long fasts and ate very little to purify their bodies. This disordered eating, known as "anorexia mirabilis," linked food restriction to morality. The idea that dieting could curb sexual urges and improve morality was later propagated by the preacher Sylvester Graham in the form of a vegetarian diet, which included bread, grains, and vegetables.
In the 19th century, the concept of dieting as a primary means of weight loss or body alteration solidified. English writer William Banting's "Letter on Corpulence" in 1863 is considered a pivotal moment in the Western relationship between dieting and weight loss. Additionally, the first low-carb diet was introduced in 1825 by Billat-Savarin, who argued against obesity being a disease and instead attributed it to lifestyle choices.
Today, dieting and weight loss are prevalent topics, with many individuals seeking ways to improve their health and lose weight. Various weight-loss plans, supplements, and commercial programmes are available, reflecting a continued interest in dieting as a weight-loss tool.
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Diet culture's evolution
Diet culture has evolved over centuries, with the first notions of "fitness" and "health" emerging in Ancient Greece. The Ancient Greeks valued physical capabilities and believed that a healthy body led to a healthy mind. This holistic approach to physical and mental health marked the beginning of diet culture.
In the Middle Ages, practitioners engaged in long fasts and ate very little to "purify the body". This type of disordered eating was called Anorexia mirabilis, which established the connection between food restriction and morality. Sylvester Graham, the father of the graham cracker, preached that a vegetarian diet of bread, grains, and vegetables would reduce sexual urges, improve immune health, and equate to morality. This idea of morality and thinness spread beyond the church, becoming a means to justify anti-blackness, patriarchy, and colonialism.
The first diet book, "The Art of Living Long" by Italian Luigi Cornaro, was published in 1558 and advised readers to limit themselves to 12 oz of food and 14 oz of wine per day. In 1825, the first low-carb diet was introduced in "The Physiology of Taste or Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy" by Billat-Savarin, who argued that obesity was not a disease but a byproduct of lifestyle. He recommended avoiding bread, flour-based foods, and sugary and starchy foods. This book became the blueprint for popular diets today, such as Paleo, Keto, Atkins, and Caveman.
In the late 19th century, societal beauty standards shifted away from the hourglass figure, and diet advice began appearing in American women's magazines. The development of scientific racism, a pseudoscientific approach used to prove the superiority of the white race, contributed to anti-fatness. Black women were characterized by their "presumed inability to control their consumptions", and white women began dieting to differentiate themselves from these stereotypes.
The diet industry experienced massive growth after World War II due to advancements in food and advertising technology, as well as increasing social, economic, and political pressures. Housewives were particularly vulnerable to the industry's harmful tactics and messaging.
In the 20th century, various fad diets emerged, such as the grapefruit diet, the cabbage soup diet, and the macrobiotic diet. The term "diet culture" likely emerged in the early 2010s and has been used as a framework for social analysis and critique. The recent emergence of weight loss drugs and cultural shifts has led to arguments that a regression in diet culture has occurred.
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Social media's influence
Diet culture has been around in some form since Ancient Greece, where the idea of dieting was a holistic approach to physical and mental health. The Ancient Greeks believed that having a healthy body meant having a healthy mind, and fitness was a large part of their culture. However, the ""ideal"" body of the Greeks was based on physical abilities rather than visual physique. In the centuries since, diet culture has evolved and spread, with the first diet book being published in 1558, and the idea of dieting to lose weight or change one's body emerging in the 19th century. The term "diet" itself shifted in meaning in the early 1900s, moving away from referring to the total amount of food and drink consumed to instead meaning a restricted food intake to lose weight or change one's physique.
Social media has had a significant influence on the spread and evolution of diet culture. With the rise of social media, dieting and exercising have become a culture in and of themselves. Social media platforms are often accused of distorting reality by portraying models that are unrepresentative of the general population, either naturally thin or unnaturally thin due to forced dieting, malnutrition, or digital editing. Edited images have been reported to encourage men and women to compare themselves to heavily enhanced and often physically unachievable appearance ideals, leading to increased body dissatisfaction, lowered self-esteem, and body image-related anxiety. This has resulted in a large amount of dissatisfaction with one's natural self, with over 50% of 2000 adults surveyed having previously edited their social media images.
Social media has also contributed to the normalisation of "diet culture" and "fat talk", with common warning signs of eating disorders, such as skipping meals and restricting calories, being viewed as normal. This normalisation may contribute to harmful behaviours that go unacknowledged and persist into diagnosable eating disorders. The influence of social media on body image and eating disorders is particularly pronounced among young people, who are already navigating physical development, emotional changes, and pressure to fit in. Research has shown that exposure to harmful health messaging on social media can be especially detrimental to teenagers' mental health, with a higher impact on women.
One of the most widely consumed types of content on the increasingly popular social media platform TikTok is health and nutrition. A recent study showed that food, nutrition, and weight loss content on TikTok perpetuates a "toxic" diet culture among teens and young adults. The study found that nutrition influencers lacking expertise are overshadowing nutrition experts, sending false messages about becoming "thin and healthy". This weight-normative messaging, which equates weight with health, is prevalent on the platform.
The influence of social media on diet culture is clear, with social media platforms contributing to the spread of harmful and toxic diet culture ideologies. The normalisation of diet culture and the encouragement of unrealistic body image ideals can have serious negative impacts on the wellbeing and mental health of users, particularly young people and women.
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Diet culture's negative impact
Diet culture has existed in some form for centuries, with its roots in Ancient Greece, where the value of physical capabilities and the idea of a healthy body equating to a healthy mind took hold. However, the negative impacts of diet culture have become more pronounced in recent times.
Negative Body Image and Body Shaming: One of the most significant negative impacts of diet culture is its contribution to negative body image and body shaming. Diet culture often equates thinness with superiority and moral virtue, while portraying larger bodies as inferior and associated with negative stereotypes. This weight stigma can lead to body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem, and negative comparisons to others. Social media, celebrity culture, and influencers play a significant role in perpetuating these unrealistic body ideals, affecting how individuals view themselves and others.
Disordered Eating and Eating Disorders: Diet culture can increase the risk of disordered eating behaviours, such as restrictive dieting, fasting, calorie counting, and binge eating. The constant pursuit of weight loss and unrealistic body ideals can lead to unhealthy relationships with food and eating disorders. This includes conditions such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, which have serious physical and mental health consequences.
Weight Cycling and Health Risks: The cycle of losing and gaining weight, known as weight cycling, can have negative health impacts. Studies indicate that weight cycling can cause fluctuations in cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure, heart rate, glucose levels, lipids, and insulin levels. Additionally, the focus on weight loss over holistic health may lead individuals to pursue unhealthy dieting methods, such as the use of weight loss drugs or extreme restriction, further compromising their physical well-being.
Oppression and Marginalization: Diet culture has been used to oppress and marginalize certain communities, particularly those who do not conform to the ideal body type. Historically, anti-fatness sentiments have been used to perpetuate racism, patriarchy, and colonialism. Black women, for example, have been characterized by stereotypes of uncontrolled consumption, encouraging white women to differentiate themselves through dieting. Diet culture has contributed to a societal narrative that equates thinness with goodness and fatness with badness, reinforcing weight stigma and contributing to systemic oppression.
The negative impacts of diet culture are far-reaching and interconnected. Challenging diet culture involves promoting a weight-inclusive approach that celebrates diversity, rejects body shaming, and prioritizes holistic health and well-being over unrealistic body ideals.
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Frequently asked questions
Dieting has existed for centuries, at least since Ancient Greece, where dieting emerged as a holistic approach to physical and mental health. However, the conception of dieting as primarily a way to lose weight or change one's body first appeared in the 19th century.
Diet culture is often associated with intersectionality and anti-racism due to its disproportionate impact on people of color. Scientific racism, a pseudoscientific approach used to justify the supposed superiority of the white race, has been used to criticize the eating habits and weight of Black people, particularly women, and encourage dieting within these communities.
With the rise of social media, dieting and exercising have become a culture in and of itself. Social media influencers and healthcare workers often spread the message that thin bodies are ideal, contributing to the fear of being fat that is deeply ingrained in our society.
Body Mass Index (BMI) has been used as a measure of health within diet culture for decades. However, BMI is based on a limited weight distribution study that compares individuals to young, white men, perpetuating the myth that higher BMI equates to poor health. This overreliance on BMI has contributed to a flawed understanding of health that ignores holistic health and the diverse needs of individuals.
