Leena Watts
Diet culture is a pervasive social norm that equates thinness with health and moral virtue, creating a moral hierarchy of body sizes and shapes. It often leads people to believe that certain behaviours will make them thinner or healthier, and that failure to follow these rules is a moral failing. This can cause people to fear and restrict certain foods, engage in excessive exercise, and develop disordered eating behaviours. To avoid diet culture, one can practice self-care, self-acceptance, and focus on nourishing the body rather than weight loss. One can also seek out positive, empowering messages and communities that reject diet culture. When following a doctor's diet, it is important to be mindful of weight stigma in healthcare and advocate for oneself to ensure that any recommendations are not based on weight-based biases.
How to follow a doctor's diet and avoid diet culture:
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Evaluate health through other measures | Resting pulse rate, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, eating habits, and physical activity |
| Avoid BMI as the sole health indicator | Request not to be weighed at the doctor's office |
| Seek a compassionate doctor | Ask for recommendations from people you trust |
| Foster food freedom | Avoid tracking macros, counting calories, and evaluating food labels |
| Set meaningful goals | Focus on non-body-oriented goals like improving flexibility or gaining self-confidence |
| Reframe your mindset | Replace "fat talk" with body acceptance |
| Practice self-care | Listen to yourself and put yourself first |
| Focus on nourishment | Prioritize nourishing and caring for your body |
| Seek like-minded communities | Connect with communities that reject diet culture |
| Consume positive media | Read books, articles, or blogs that promote body acceptance |
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What You'll Learn
- Recognise the impact of diet culture and the pressure to look a certain way
- Focus on health metrics other than BMI, such as resting pulse rate and cholesterol levels
- Avoid restrictive diets and fear of certain foods
- Set goals unrelated to body image, such as improving health or fitness
- Find a doctor who focuses on health, not weight
Recognise the impact of diet culture and the pressure to look a certain way
Diet culture is pervasive in society, and it can be challenging to separate ourselves from it. It represents a set of systemic beliefs that affect everyone, idealising thinness as a status symbol and a marker of health and moral virtue. This leads to the demeaning and stigmatisation of people in larger bodies, perpetuating the idea that they are unhealthy and unworthy of dignity. The pressure to conform to societal norms and body ideals can be overwhelming and contribute to negative self-image and disordered eating behaviours.
The impact of diet culture is far-reaching, influencing everyday conversations with friends, family, and classmates. It can manifest in various ways, such as celebrating weight loss, encouraging others to lose weight, promoting restrictive diets, and perpetuating the fear of certain foods. Social media also plays a significant role, with fitness and aspirational food images reinforcing body dissatisfaction and shame. Negative body image, in turn, can lead to disordered eating, dieting, fasting, calorie counting, and even eating disorders.
Healthcare professionals are not immune to diet culture. Weight stigma in healthcare is prevalent, with doctors and nurses exhibiting anti-fat bias. This bias can lead to lower-quality care and worse health outcomes for people in larger bodies. As a result, individuals with higher weights may avoid seeking medical help due to anxiety and fear of discrimination.
To recognise the impact of diet culture and resist the pressure to conform to a particular body ideal, it is essential to foster food freedom. This involves rejecting restrictive diets, tracking macros, and counting calories. Instead, focus on eating nourishing and balanced meals that make you feel good. It is also crucial to set goals that are not solely focused on body image or weight but on overall health and well-being, such as improving flexibility, building strength, or enhancing self-confidence.
Additionally, it is important to be mindful of the language used when discussing food and bodies. Phrases like "cheat days" or "bad weekends" contribute to the moralisation of food choices. Challenging these ideas and starting positive conversations can help shift the mindset away from diet culture. Seeking support from registered dietitians or healthcare professionals with a "Health at Every Size" approach can also be beneficial in navigating a healthy relationship with food and improving body image.
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Focus on health metrics other than BMI, such as resting pulse rate and cholesterol levels
While medical professionals have long used the body mass index (BMI) as a standard measure of health, it is not without its flaws. BMI is a function of a person's weight and height and does not distinguish between fat, muscle, or water. As such, it can incorrectly flag muscular individuals as overweight or fail to identify those with excess fat in dangerous places, such as around the organs in the midsection, which is closely linked to conditions like heart disease.
Given these limitations, it is important to consider other health metrics beyond BMI. One such metric is resting pulse rate, which is a good indicator of cardiovascular health. A lower resting pulse rate generally indicates better health, with very fit people sometimes having a rate as low as 40 beats per minute. You can measure your resting pulse rate by counting the number of beats in 30 seconds and then multiplying by two.
Another important metric is cholesterol level, which is a gauge of inflammation and an indicator of health. High cholesterol levels have been associated with poorer health outcomes. You can request to have your cholesterol levels tested by a medical professional, who can advise you on any necessary lifestyle changes or medications to help manage your levels.
In addition to resting pulse rate and cholesterol levels, other health metrics that can provide valuable insights include blood pressure, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio. These measurements can help assess your risk for conditions like heart disease and diabetes, which may not be accurately captured by BMI alone.
By focusing on these alternative health metrics, you can gain a more comprehensive understanding of your health status and work with your doctor to develop appropriate treatment plans that are tailored to your individual needs. This approach helps shift the focus from weight-centric measurements, such as BMI, towards metrics that more directly reflect your overall health and well-being.
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Avoid restrictive diets and fear of certain foods
Diet culture can cause us to fear certain foods, cut out food groups, and engage in restrictive diets. It can also contribute to disordered eating behaviours and eating disorders such as Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). ARFID is a condition that limits a person's food intake and causes them to restrict the amount and type of food they eat. It is often linked to strong emotions, worries, and fears around food, such as fear of choking or vomiting, or experiencing abdominal pain. It can also cause social isolation, as people with ARFID tend to avoid social occasions involving food.
To avoid restrictive diets and the fear of certain foods, it is important to foster food freedom. This means giving yourself the freedom to eat the foods you enjoy without feeling guilty or needing to 'make up for it' later. Try to avoid labelling foods as 'good' or 'bad', and focus on eating a variety of nutritious foods that make you feel good. Instead of focusing on your BMI, work with your doctor to evaluate your health through other measures such as your resting pulse rate, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, eating habits, and physical activity. You can also request not to be weighed at doctor's visits, as weight stigma in healthcare is a huge problem and can lead to lower-quality care and worse health outcomes for people in larger bodies.
If you are struggling with a fear of certain foods or restrictive eating, it is important to seek professional help. A doctor, dietitian, and therapist who specialize in eating disorders can provide treatment such as nutrition counselling, medical care, and feeding therapy. Cognitive behavioural therapy is also a common treatment for ARFID.
It's important to note that restrictive diets and the fear of certain foods can be complex issues, and seeking professional help is always recommended. These suggestions are general guidelines to help you develop a healthier relationship with food and avoid the negative impacts of diet culture.
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Set goals unrelated to body image, such as improving health or fitness
Diet culture is a set of systemic beliefs that affect everyone. It idealises thinness as a signal of status, health and moral virtue, and those who live in thinner bodies often benefit from unspoken privileges that those in larger bodies do not. Diet culture also tends to demean those in larger bodies by assuming that they are unhealthy, unworthy of dignity, and should be ashamed of their appearance or eating habits.
To avoid diet culture, it is important to set goals unrelated to body image, such as improving health or fitness. Here are some ways to do that:
Focus on functionality and positive body image
Focus on the functionality of your body and the positive things it can do for you. This can help support and improve your body image. For example, you can set goals related to improving your flexibility, running a 5K, doing a certain number of push-ups, or gaining self-confidence.
Foster food freedom
Instead of tracking macros, counting calories, evaluating every food label, and avoiding more calorific foods, try giving yourself the freedom to eat the foods you enjoy without feeling guilty. Avoid labelling foods as "good" or "bad".
Set meaningful and motivating fitness goals
Set fitness goals that are meaningful and motivating to you. For example, you can set goals to improve your cardiovascular health, such as building up to jogging for 20 minutes or running a 5K. You can also set goals to increase your upper body strength, such as doing a certain number of push-ups within a month.
Make goals realistic and achievable
It is important to set realistic and achievable goals. If your goal seems too ambitious, readjust and set smaller, short-term mini-goals that lead to your ultimate goal. For example, if your ultimate goal is to lose 20 kg, a realistic weight loss goal is 1 kg of body fat every one to two weeks, which would take around 20 to 40 weeks.
Listen to your body
It is important to listen to your body and give it rest when needed. Exercise can release cortisol, a stress hormone, so if you are already experiencing stress from other life factors, you may be putting too much stress on your body. Stretching is an important component of fitness, as it increases flexibility, improves range of motion, and reduces inflammation, helping to prevent injuries.
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Find a doctor who focuses on health, not weight
Doctors and healthcare providers can often be just as entrenched in diet culture as anyone else. Weight stigma in healthcare is a significant problem, with doctors and nurses displaying anti-fat bias that can lead to lower-quality care and worse health outcomes for larger-bodied patients. As such, it is important to find a doctor who focuses on health, rather than weight.
A good place to start is with your primary care doctor, who can help you figure out whether you are obese or pre-obese by measuring your body mass index (BMI). They can also help you come up with a treatment plan, although not all primary healthcare providers have received specific training in this area. If this is the case, your primary doctor may refer you to an obesity specialist or bariatrician, who can offer more specialised treatment plans. Obesity specialists can help you set realistic goals for exercise, as well as recommending anti-obesity medicine, nutrition education, behavioural changes, and therapy. Bariatricians are doctors who treat obesity alongside any related health conditions.
If you are uncomfortable with your current healthcare provider, you can find a new one. Ask around for recommendations for a compassionate doctor, or see if there are any HAES (Health at Every Size) doctors in your area.
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Frequently asked questions
Diet culture is a set of beliefs that equates thinness with health and categorizes food into "good" or "bad" types. It creates a moral hierarchy of body sizes and shapes, idealizing thinness and creating fear and negativity around fat. If you find yourself believing that certain foods will make you thinner or healthier and that not following these rules is wrong, you may be influenced by diet culture.
Rejecting diet culture involves fostering food freedom, setting goals that are not body-oriented, and reframing how you think about food. You can also seek out positive, empowering messages that promote body acceptance and call out or challenge ideas of diet culture in everyday conversations. Additionally, you can find like-minded communities that reject diet culture and avoid media that makes you feel negative about your body.
It's important to remember that doctors and other healthcare providers can also be influenced by diet culture. Weight stigma in healthcare is a significant problem, leading to lower-quality care and worse health outcomes for people in larger bodies. When following a doctor's diet, focus on nourishing your body and improving your health rather than solely on weight loss. You can also request not to be weighed at doctor's visits unless there is a legitimate medical reason, such as determining medication dosages.
