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7. Anti-diet culture
Understanding Anti-Diet Culture
Views about health, wellness and the “right” way to eat have been changing in recent years. People are conflicted about the validity behind trending diets and strict weight-loss methods and are becoming aware of alternative options. One of those alternatives is the anti-diet movement. Anti-diet culture promotes wellness over size reduction. It involves the sentiment that all bodies deserve to exist, no matter their size, shape or weight. Chloe Walters, 24, is a selflove blogger and an activist for the anti-diet movement. She spoke to Adulthood about anti-diet culture and how she became an advocate for the movement. She said to understand anti-diet culture we should first consider what diet culture is. Chloe said: “Diet culture isn’t just counting calories and exercising, as damaging as those are, it’s the perceptions created by Instagram influencers, people we see in magazines, and films. It’s this idea that you have to be like these people or you’re not worthy.” Anti-diet nutritionist, Christy Harrison, also described diet culture as the view that thinness equates to health and moral virtue. She said that diet culture is a: ‘Shape-shifting thing that robs people of their time, money, health, happiness and so much more.’ Chloe’s blog encourages people to find acceptance and validation within themselves in the present. Speaking about her blog she said: “Bodies come in lots of shapes, and that’s a beautiful thing that my blog celebrates.” Additionally, Chloe advocates for building healthy relationships with food, exercise and ourselves. She said: “People don’t realise that being skinny won’t make them love themselves. And I don’t blame them, social media paints this image that if you’re skinny then you’re happy and we’ll be praised, admired or envied for that.” She said that diet culture is portrayed to us from an early age: “Take Barbie dolls, for example, we give young girls these dolls with an 18-inch waist and we think nothing of it. You never see an action man with a ‘Dad bod’ either.” Chloe told Adulthood why she became involved with the movement. She said: “I think my obsession with my body and weight started in my early teens. I was a bit bigger than all of the other girls in my
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class. But I only started to hate my body when other people started commenting on it. That’s when I started to hate myself.” “I used to be called fat a lot. And I would say things like ‘I’m feeling fat today’. But now I’ve realised that ‘fat’ shouldn’t be an insult. Society created the view that ‘fat’ is bad.”
Chloe also explained how throughout her teenage years she battled with anorexia and a binge-eating disorder. Which she also said led to her depression diagnosis. She said: “At my lowest, I didn’t want to carry on living to feel the way I did. I didn’t have much hope for my future because I hated my body so much. Some days I had to cover up and avoid all of the mirrors at my house it was so bad.” Throughout her twenties, Chloe has been receiving therapy for her depression and eating disorder. She also created her self-love and anti-diet blog, building up a community of like-minded individuals. She said: “The blog was a saviour to me. When I was a teenager I didn’t think anyone felt or looked like me. Now my blog is a space for me to put all my feelings and connect with people who feel the way I do today. I need to love myself now, not if I’m skinnier someday, or I’ll lose myself again.” Although there are some who criticise the anti-diet movement. Their beliefs are that anti-diet culture can be harmful to those dealing with health conditions such as obesity. In March, UK Parliament released statistics stating that: “28% of adults in England are obese and a further 36% are overweight.” Furthermore, in 2022, NuffieldTrust stated that obesity is a major public health problem in the UK. Being obese or overweight has been associated with an increased risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers. Amy Burns, 27, is a personal trainer who is firmly against anti-diet culture. She spoke to Adulthood about her views on the new movement. She said: “I think they’re extreme. I get what they’re against, I don’t advocate for self-hatred either. But I advocate for balance. We should have healthy relationships with food and exercise. And nourishing our bodies through managing stress, meditating and making those voices in your head kinder.” Amy spoke about her belief that the anti-diet movement can act as an excuse when we’re not nourishing our bodies properly. “In the grand scheme of it, they’re saying it’s okay to be clinically obese and be in danger of getting some really nasty illnesses, as long as you’re happy,” She said. “I’ve voiced my opinions on social media and some people say I only care because it’ll affect my business as a PT (Personal trainer). Some of the people who come to me have low self-esteem, and I help them along the journey to being healthier and stronger, and build a good relationship with food and themselves.” Chloe Walters shared her views on those who criticise the movement. She said: “People seem to think that having a larger body size means you’re unhealthy. We can work on being healthy without being focused on weight.” “We should be proud of our bodies and worship them rather than harm them.” Chloe hopes that by spreading the word of alternative views on body image and positivity, in the future we will all be more accepting of our bodies.
