Bringing Down Diet Culture Through Intuitive Eating

Take it to Go:

• Society puts unrealistic expectations on body image, fueling diet culture.
• Intuitive eating could be a potential solution that focuses on breaking dieting cycles and understanding hunger cues.

How many times have you gone to the grocery store, seen a food item that looks delicious, but put it back when you read the number of calories it has? Or how many times have you resisted your favorite foods because you were trying out a new diet?

I have continuously fallen back into the trap time and time again. I find myself obsessing over an unachievable body type, sometimes undereating, sometimes exercising extensively, and when I can’t stand it anymore, binging on my favorite foods. I seem to blame myself for these tendencies; however, how could I do that when our culture is entrenched in glorifying unrealistic body types. We live in a society where food and fitness infatuations have been normalized, putting extremely high expectations on us to appear thin, in shape, and always demonstrate perfection (Martin). Thus, it is critical to foster a healthy relationship with food through methods such as “intuitive eating,” which rests on the idea that one rejects diet culture and listens to their own body’s cues on what, when, and how much to eat. Coupled with intuitive eating, healthcare providers and school officials should strive to educate the public on improving self-esteem related to body image and eating habits.

I am not the only one that sometimes tends to feel unhappy with my body type. Research shows that as much as 53% of American girls are unhappy with their bodies, and this grew to 78% by the time these girls reached the age of seventeen (“Media’s Effect”). While there are several factors that influence the way that people feel about their body, the one that is most striking is “diet culture.” Diet culture idolizes weight loss, restricts certain foods, and oppresses those who don’t fit beauty standards. Those following these messages fall into a perpetual state of believing that thinness and diet equal health, and those who fit the “health” criteria are superior than others. According to the CDC, nearly 37.6% of adolescents between the ages of 16 to 19 tried to lose weight during the years 2013–2016, demonstrating that diet culture is something that affects a large part of the young adult population in the USA (McDow).

Chasing after the goals outlined by “diet culture” destroys one’s relationship with food, increases the risk of developing an eating disorder, and impairs one’s mental and physical health. A research study conducted in 2013 by Dr. Michael Lowe showed that those who attempt to diet and restrict their eating are more likely to gain weight (Lowe). Moreover, those who diet report feeling guilty, and they feel as though their body image and how much they exercise determines their self-esteem and self-worth (Abraham). Their self-esteem continuously decreases from constant feelings of failure which drive them further out of control of their food choices and into an endless cycle of defeat. To become more in line with food choices, experts have suggested turning to intuitive eating as a means to gain more control and to make peace with food.

Intuitive eating is a fairly new concept that has gained more traction over the last couple of decades, and it rests on 10 concepts that focus on breaking dieting cycles and restoring one’s connection with their body’s hunger cues (“10 Principles of Intuitive Eating”). Everyone was born with these diet-related cues, specifically the cues that signal hunger and fullness. However, these cues can go away over time due to a variety of different reasons, but some of these factors include increased amounts of stress or food restriction. Thus, in order to regain these signals, one must ditch food rules and diet culture, eat consistently, and become familiar with what hunger cues feel like. Intuitive eating also asks individuals to respect their bodies and understand that everyone is not the same size and shape (“10 Principles of Intuitive Eating”). This allows individuals to let go of the unrealistic expectations brought forth by society and it allows one to make more logical, not emotional, decisions in relation to their dietary habits.

When put into action, intuitive eating has had great strides in improving dietary behaviors. For example, in a study done in 2014, researchers established an association between intuitive eating in high school students and overall healthier eating habits because of the way that intuitive eating increases the awareness of internal cues (Healy). This suggests that when implemented, intuitive eating can help build a positive relationship with food that instills healthy lifestyle habits that are maintained in the long term.

Some may argue that since intuitive eating allows an individual to decide what, when, and how much to eat, one might become out of control with the amount that they’re eating. On the contrary, one of the core principles of intuitive eating is to “make peace with food.” According to the British Heart Foundation, this principle rests on the idea that no food is off-limits, and when an individual allows themselves to eat food that was once banned by their restrictive diet, it takes away the guilt associated with eating it (“10 Principles of Intuitive Eating”). Once this is implemented and followed continuously, the food that is no longer forbidden might not seem as attractive as it did before, making a person less likely to binge on certain foods. Moreover, by decreasing the guilt, it helps alleviate the toll that dieting takes on self-esteem and self-worth.

Furthermore, if intuitive eating is coupled with education on boosting self-esteem related to body image and eating habits, then it can help break down cultural and societal expectations stemming from diet culture. For instance, educational programs that reinforce ideas presented by the principles of intuitive eating would be helpful, specifically emphasizing the message that everyone is different and that there is nothing wrong with that. A similar study was done where an interactive educational program, that included topics relating to learning what is unique about oneself, building self-esteem, and improving self-image, was implemented in a school (O’Dea). This program was held in this school for 9 consecutive weeks, and it asked students to not only apply what they learned at school but also apply it to their friends and family outside of school, fostering healthy relationships with their loved ones. In doing so, the results showed that an interactive educational program, like this one, improved self-esteem, body image, and eating habits of male and female adolescents as well as children who were most at risk for eating disorders. This study demonstrates that an educational course on self-esteem and body image can have a positive impact, so when it is coupled with intuitive eating, it can have an even more significant impact on eating habits.

In order to bring down the insurmountable goals outlined by diet culture, we must work towards implementing intuitive eating as well as starting educational programs that improve self-esteem and body image. We must stop giving in to diet culture’s lies telling us that we have to be thin and fit to be considered healthy and attractive. Finally, we must focus on accepting who we are, just the way we are, and always aim for what makes us feel good, regardless of what the number on the scale might be.

Work Cited:

“10 Principles of Intuitive Eating.” British Heart Foundation,https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/nutrition/weight/intuitiveeating/10-principles-of-intuitive-eating.

Abraham, Suzanne F. “Dieting, body weight, body image and self-esteem in young women: doctors’ dilemmas.” The Medical journal of Australia vol. 178,12 (2003): 607–11. doi:10.5694/j.1326–5377.2003.tb05382.x

Healy, Nicole, et al. “Impact of an Intuitive Eating Education Program on High School Students’ Eating Attitudes.” Health Education (Bradford, West Yorkshire, England), vol. 115, no. 2, 2015, pp. 214–228.

Lowe, Michael R et al. “Dieting and restrained eating as prospective predictors of weight gain.” Frontiers in psychology vol. 4 577. 2 Sep. 2013, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00577

Martin, Courtney E. Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: How the Quest for Perfection Is Harming Young Women. Berkley Publishing Group, 2007.

McDow, Kendra, et al. “Attempts to Lose Weight Among Adolescents Aged 16–19 in the United States, 2013–2016.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17 July 2019, www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db340.htm.

“Media’s Effect on Body Type.” Body Image and Nutrition, depts.washington.edu/thmedia/view.cgi?page=fastfacts§ion=bodyimage.

O’Dea, Jennifer A., and Suzanne Abraham. “Improving the Body Image, Eating Attitudes, and Behaviors of Young Male and Female Adolescents: A New Educational Approach that Focuses on Self-Esteem.” The International Journal of Eating Disorders, vol. 28, no. 1, 2000, pp. 43–57.