The Damage Caused By Diet Culture, According To A Nutritionist

We’re already aware of some of the most common myths around diet culture, but what about its wider impact?

We asked Nutritionist and student Dietitian Sinead Larkin  about her experiences as an expert, and how we can move away from a life burdened by extreme diets.

What are the impacts of diet culture myths?

The impact of the restriction on certain food groups or just certain foods in general can lead to disordered eating. There’s also the promotion of unrealistic beauty standards plastered across social media. This can also lead to disordered eating.

Your mental health is impacted; you could be having low self-esteem because you’re comparing yourself to someone on the internet. 

Has social media made diet culture worse? 

Yes and no. We would always see a certain body type in newspapers or magazines. I think it’s gotten worse on social media, but it didn’t start there. People follow their favourite influencers or artists, and of course, they will post pictures of themselves. It’s very easy to fall into the hole of comparing yourself to what they look like. You don’t know if this person has edited their photos, suffers from an eating disorder, or if they have a good relationship with food. You don’t know anything about their lives.

It’s very hard, but try not to compare yourself when you don’t know what’s happening behind closed doors; nothing’s real online. People will show their best versions of themselves. There’s a lot of misinformation on social media, but many accounts are fighting diet culture too. 

What are the most common myths you see/hear about?

The most common myths I hear about are very similar to these. There is one about bananas; people have this idea that they are really bad for you, but they’re not. Bananas get a really bad rep, actually!

“Gluten-free diets are healthier” – people think they are, but they lack a lot of essential nutrients, especially fibre and vitamin B, which is important for everyone so hence. People who are Coeliac may have to use multivitamins to help, and they would have to monitor their fibre intake too. They are the most common ones I’ve heard recently, they are quite trendy and on topic.

What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about diet culture?

People probably think that these myths are healthy when the reality is that they are very false, misleading and harming people’s relationship with food, their body, and their image, which then has an impact on their socialisation.

They might not be able to eat when they go out. People think they can go on diets and it won’t cause them to have a bad relationship with food.

Have these myths encouraged eating disorders?

Yes, they have. The myths, such as avoiding carbs to lose weight, are targeted at restricting a food group which is not healthy, and people think carbohydrates are not healthy so that they will avoid carbs their whole lives.

It can go from carbs to other food groups and others, which may become fear foods. 

Weight loss programmes use words like ‘syn’ to describe foods, is that a healthy way to view food? If not, how does that change people’s mentality?

The wording of certain weight loss programmes is not very helpful for individuals as they are viewing foods as good or bad for them. Wording like ‘syns’, for example. Bread has syns. If you eat three portions of bread, or oats in the morning and bread in the afternoon, that is a ‘syn’. In a way, it is restrictive as you restrict food groups, and you are only allowed a certain amount of syns daily.

This could lead to a negative view of food or lead to an eating disorder for some, while others may not be bothered by these wordings, and they will be fine. I see it as positive and negative. I think there is a lack of help for people who want to lose weight, and as there is a lack of dietitians, we wouldn’t be able to see patients regularly. I think these programmes could help people but could also lead to the negative side of having a bad relationship with food.

I don’t particularly like these programmes, but I like the idea of having a weight loss programme that is suited for people or that can help people use more positive language around food. 

How can we start healing our relationship with food?

Personally, what has helped me is getting intuitive eating books. There are loads of examples, but I use Intuitive Eating for Every Day by Evelyn Tribole. She is a registered dietitian. The book goes through 365 daily practices for mindfulness and mindful eating, giving you reasons why you should love your body and exercises to do as well.

Other ways to heal are to try not to view food as good or bad and not punish yourself for what you’re eating. We deserve to eat food we enjoy and eat for fuel; we are all unique, look different, and are all amazing in our own way. This book or something similar would really help people; it focuses on listening to your hunger cues, what you are eating, and where you are eating.

Words by EmilyRose Nulty

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• Diet Culture