The negative effects of diet culture

Body standards continue to exist through holding a ball and chain to its host. As such, it could drag and drain the energy of individuals suffering under society’s perfectionism. A popular resort for achieving these standards in youth is dieting, which has been proven to be detrimental much more often than it seems.

To preface, diet culture is the belief that bodily appearance succeeds physical, psychological, and general health. It has a history of harming adolescents and young adults with harsh stereotypes and encouraging unnatural and idealistic body goals. This is not a new and modern concept as its origins trace back to the late 18th and early 19th centuries when American protestants identified deprivation with health. Some profited from endorsing it, such as clergyman Sylvester Graham, who promoted a bland vegetarian diet of bread, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables to improve health and ensure moral virtue.

The history of this culture is also grounded in Ancient Greece, where regulating food intake was encouraged to achieve serenity. Controlling consumption was also used as a way for people to obtain a fit, aesthetically pleasing body. For a long time, obsessive dieting has been observed in different cultures and now shows its face more consistently in modern media.

“Not only does it [diet culture] affect people physically, it affects them mentally,” said Deerfield Beach High School sophomore Harmony Edmond. “If you don’t fit the standards, you’re not seen as cool, and you’re considered an outcast.”

The modern era spares no humanity in advertising new solutions to losing weight. Keto diets, Mediterranean diets, and juice cleanses are all rising in popularity and seem to be taking a toll on Gen Z’s perception of beauty. Unrealistic ideas surrounding conventionally attractive looks, proper foods to eat, and “desirable” body size, taint the youth’s social media intake. It’s highly possible for people’s self-esteem to go downhill, unhealthy eating habits to arise, and a higher statistic for depression.

As time progresses, weight loss trends go out just as often as different bodily proportions are “in”. Keeping this very self-expressive generation in mind, the fashion industry is keen on these fads and markets based on their impressions. Fashion tends to be a universal language that bonds people, from the fabric of their blouses to their adornment of jewelry. However, it also finds its way to manipulate beauty expectations.

“These standards are toxic because they cause people to harm themselves to fit in with society, which hurts people in different ways,” said DBHS junior Naomi Brodure.

The same small, skinny, hourglass body people grew up reading about in tabloids is resurfacing as Y2K makes a return. Many famous female personalities of the early 2000s flaunted their flat stomachs through low-waisted jeans and miniskirts. This era where girls like Paris Hilton, Hillary Duff, Lindsay Lohan, and the Olsen sisters were idolized and adored for wearing small sizes, and now teens are adding these figures to their “thinspiration” boards again as social media platforms such as TikTok begin pushing this image to a younger demographic.

Social media plays a massive role in the malleable minds of youths. Since the online space dictates what trends take over next, Gen Z has fixated on appeasing them, even at the expense of their well-being. Diet culture only continues to consume the energy and health of individuals as parasites to its hosts.

However, as a progressive generation, individuals can only hope to normalize body acceptance over rejection.