Editorial: Analyzing the Impact of Diet Culture in the Media

By: Maya Paddon

TW: Diets, diet culture, weight, eating disorders, body image

There’s no denying that social media has caused worldwide transformations over the past (almost) three decades. Whether it’s utilized for communication purposes, accessing information, establishing online communities, or simply for pure entertainment, social media has undoubtedly changed the way we go about our daily lives. While it has surely provided an assortment of benefits, including connectivity, immediate updates of various global events, and raised awareness of international issues, social media has also introduced, or re-introduced, countless harmful notions. Concerns regarding cyberbullying, fake news, and an increase in mental health challenges have commonly arised. However, the issue of diet culture, which is perhaps lesser known among society, yet arguably just as pressing as other social media-related problems, has proven to be especially prevalent over the last few years throughout various online platforms. 

Diet culture as a concept can be perceived and defined differently by everyone. For example, the Health Psychology Open (HPO), defined diet culture as “the pervasive idea or cultural norm that equates being thin and losing weight with health” (Erhardt). Nadia Craddock, a body image and disordered eating psychologist described diet culture as a notion that is “telling us that there’s one way to be and one way to look and one way to eat and that we are a better person if our bodies look a certain way” through an interview with America’s National Public Radio (NPR) (Tagle and Schneider). Meanwhile, dietitian and social media influencer Colleen Christensen, believes that diet culture “is based on the idea that our bodies are valued by their size and that smaller is better” (Christensen). The main information to take away here is, diet culture is interpreted variously, as it impacts several populations differently. In other words, a strict definition that perfectly encapsulates what diet culture is simply does not, and will not, exist.

While the origins of diet culture are quite obscure, the general idea has been portrayed for decades via books, magazines, TV commercials, and more. We’ve all seen the conspicuous “health” tabloids overwhelming the shelves at grocery stores; colour-filled and bright on the outside, yet filled with ever-expanding lists of “forbidden foods,” extreme weight loss tips, and the latest fad diets to test out. And while these magazines still exist, it’s become abundantly clear that social media has been escalating the overall diet culture issue as a whole, and increasing the number of those impacted. 

This is not to say that diets are sometimes necessary for people due to allergies, an assortment of health reasons, religious purposes, and more. However, some of the most common trending diets, behaviours, and supposed “rules” related to diet culture that have been praised on social media are truly unsustainable for many. One of the primary notions being calorie counting. 

In 2022, calorie counting was the second-most popular dietary trend on TikTok, with #caloriedeficit, #caloriecounting, and #lowcalorie earning nearly six billion views throughout the entire year (Yorktest, 2022). While calorie counting can be helpful for some individuals for particular reasons, with various social media influencers and online trends pressuring strict habits, such as calorie counting, it can easily become an obsessive behaviour. Calorie counting can be a difficult task to maintain for long periods of time, and it can cause eating times to become a stressful activity due to repetitively tracking food portions (Davis, 2021). Fixating on every calorie consumed can lead to severe self-punishment, including over-exercising and induced vomiting, for exceeding a set “daily caloric intake,” as well (Schreck, 2022). Additionally, calorie counting can inevitably lead to unsustainable eating practices and mentalities, like restricting specific foods, or even entire food groups, and forming a categorical view of what foods are “good” and what foods are “bad” (Kelvas, 2023). Why is this a major concern? Ultimately, these behaviours can cause extreme anxiety around food and eating, when in reality, food is not only meant to nourish the body, but is also used to deliver joy and satisfaction (Why We Should Avoid Labeling Food as Good or Bad, 2022). 

Diet culture has also proposed a harmful idea that links health with being thin. Realistically, health is a broad term that means separate things for different individuals, depending on factors like age, gender, medical history, and more. Health also encompasses emotional, spiritual, and social wellness; it’s not solely based on physical appearance or attributes (Kelvas, 2023). Conveying the notion that being thin equates to being healthy can result in people struggling with body image and self-acceptance (Kelvas, 2023). Diet culture strongly suggests to others that their body weight, size and/or composition doesn’t fit an unrealistic, yet degrading societal standard, which can therefore cause individuals to feel uncomfortable and angry with their physical appearance, and potentially even practice disordered eating behaviours, such as enforcing strict food rules, eating less, and frequently agonizing over their appearance (NHS Choices, 2024). Overall, being a healthy individual does not equate to being thin, as there are simply too many other factors unrelated to physique that still heavily contribute to being healthy all-around. The truth of the matter is, communicating a message that regards being thin to being healthy is merely incorrect, not to mention damaging. 

Ultimately, it’s quite obvious that the pure presence of diet culture in the media presents harmful ideas and several risks to numerous different people. In this day and age, where social media is filled with deceptive messages and harmful misconceptions, it causes all users to be extremely exposed to the toxic notions that certain trends, advertisements, and influencers associated with diet culture communicate. And it most definitely makes users increasingly susceptible to the impacts of diet culture. Whether it’s having an unhealthy relationship with food, classifying foods as “good” and “bad,” or feeling the need to be punished after eating simply for hunger or pure joy,  diet culture has the potential to affect us all, trapping us in a mindset that tells us there is a single way to look, eat, feel, and be healthy. 

While it’s completely understandable that achieving a healthy life partly roots from eating well, maintaining an all-embracing healthy lifestyle should never mean allowing your mental, emotional, or physical health to degrade. 

If you are struggling with disordered eating, body image, and/or any impacts of diet culture, please reach out to someone you can trust. 

Works Cited

Colleen. “What Is Diet Culture (and Should I Kick It to the Curb?).” Colleen Christensen Nutrition, 27 Sept. 2021, colleenchristensennutrition.com/what-is-diet-culture/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2024.

Davis, R. J. (2021, September 24). The Calorie Fallacy: Why Counting Calories Isn’t an Effective Weight-Loss Strategy. TIME; Time. https://time.com/6101041/counting-calories-weight-loss-supersized-lies/

Erhardt, Gabrielle A. “Intuitive Eating as a Counter-Cultural Process towards Self-Actualisation: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Experiences of Learning to Eat Intuitively.” Health Psychology Open, vol. 8, no. 1, SAGE Publishing, Jan. 2021, p. 205510292110009-205510292110009, https://doi.org/10.1177/20551029211000957. Accessed 6 Jan. 2024.

Kelvas, D. (2023). How Diet Culture Can Lead to Eating Disorders. Withinhealth.com. https://withinhealth.com/learn/articles/how-diet-culture-can-lead-to-eating-disorders#:~:text=Diet%20culture%20is%20rooted%20in,and%20a%20lack%20of%20health.

NHS Choices. (2024). Overview – Eating disorders. https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/behaviours/eating-disorders/overview/

Schreck, M. (2022). Self-Abuse Through Food. Abuse Refuge Org. https://abuserefuge.org/self-abuse-through-food/#:~:text=After%20eating%2C%20a%20person%20may,bodies%20(Leonard%2C%202020).

Tagle, Andee, and Clare Marie Schneider. “Diet Culture Is Everywhere. Here’s How to Fight It : Life Kit.” NPR, 4 Jan. 2022, www.npr.org/2021/12/23/1067210075/what-if-the-best-diet-is-to-reject-diet-culture. Accessed 6 Jan. 2024.

Why We Should Avoid Labeling Food as Good or Bad. (2022). Withinhealth.com. https://withinhealth.com/learn/articles/why-we-should-avoid-labeling-food-as-good-or-bad

Yorktest. (2022, February 23). These Are The Most Popular Diet Trends On TikTok In 2022 - YorkTest US. YorkTest US. https://www.yorktest.com/us/blog/most-popular-diet-trends-on-tiktok-in-2022/