Debunking Summer Diet Culture Misconceptions
As the summer arrives in full swing, diet culture becomes a significant part of people’s lives as they hope to achieve the ‘perfect summer body.’ However, hundreds of misconceptions stem from social media, false advertising, and the healthcare industry. Because of this, individuals can get caught up in the allure of diet culture during the summertime.
What Is Diet Culture?
Diet culture is the concept as “the idea that certain body types are superior to others, perpetuates unrealistic beauty standards, and equates thinners with worthiness and success” (Blue Ridge, 2024). Because of the influence of social media, this concept is pushed further onto individuals to achieve unrealistic expectations for how they should look, especially during the summer when the weather becomes more likable, and everyone is headed to the pool or the beach with their family and friends. As a result, individuals fall into patterns of restrictive eating, “yo-yo dieting,” and following different food fads not based on fact or science. Individuals need to recognize when these concepts they see online are facts or myths.
Misconception #1: There are good and bad foods
Diet culture categorizes specific foods as either ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ Foods become deemed ‘healthier’ to make them sound more appealing to individuals seeking a diet to help them lose weight. In contrast, others say a particular diet will help individuals achieve better skin. As Beth Gillette writes for The Everygirl, “Some say high-fat, low-carb diets like Keto are everything, while others point to low-fat, high-carb vegan diets. Some say meat is our best friend, and others say meat is giving us cancer” (Gillette, 2021). The bottom line is that each individual has different nutrition needs. It’s about working with a dietitian to figure out what works for your body and finding enjoyment with foods that make you happy and healthy.
Misconception #2: Being thin equals being healthy
Diet culture promotes the idea that thinness equates to healthiness. The message that b2eing thin makes one happier, more liked, and more healthy. And because of this misconception, individuals can struggle with their body image and self-worth, leading them down the path of an eating disorder. An essay written by Kiersten Hickman describes the concept by examining Taylor Swift’s music video for ‘Anti-Hero,’ which caused a lot of controversies back in 2022 due to a scene in the video that individuals found triggering and led to the discussion of fatphobia in our culture. “Even if we don’t want to admit it, we’ve all struggled with fatphobia in some way, thinking that if we carry a bit of weight on us, we feel the blame is on us, we are morally not good people, and it’s entirely our fault’ (Hickman, 2022). Although society is shifting the mindset of individualism and acceptance, this misconception can harm one’s health and happiness.
Misconception #3: Diets will guarantee results
One of the biggest misconceptions about diet culture is that dieting is the key to losing weight and that a healthier body is deemed worthy of being shown out and about during the summer. However, the pattern of restrictive dieting and switching from different diets, also known as ‘yo-yo dieting,’ can have negative impacts on an individual’s physical and mental health.
The allure of diet culture feeds off false promises not based on facts or science, which is why individuals must prioritize their well-being and build a healthy relationship with their bodies.
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References
Debunking diet culture. (2024, March 8). https://www.blueridgetreatment.com/post/debunking-diet-culture
Gillette, B. (2021, May 4). The biggest diet culture myths, according to a dietician. The Everygirl. https://theeverygirl.com/dietician-talks-diet-myths/
Hickman, K. (2022, October 29). Taylor Swift’s music video, fatphobia, and the power of story. Forkful. https://forkful.substack.com/p/taylor-swifts-music-video-fatphobia-779
This post was written by BALANCE Blog Contributor, Regina Colie (she/her).
Regina Colie is a blog contributor for BALANCE, whose previous work has been featured in Project HEAL and Nourishing NY. She is an alumnus of The New School of Social Research, where she received her Masters in Psychology. After attending Marymount Manhattan College, she had the opportunity to be published in Dr. Nava Silton’s book, The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Child, Adolescent, and Adult Development.
