The Pervasive Force of Weight Bias, Part 2 – Diet Culture

The diet industry is worth $60 billion dollars. SIXTY BILLION DOLLARS.

Diet culture feeds on everyone, not just the vulnerable and the overweight. Diet culture is so ubiquitous in our society that many people aren’t even aware of how influenced they are by it, myself included. The idea that skinniness equals health and happiness is plastered everywhere – in ads, shows, movies, magazines, and especially on social media; thinness is better. And with this constant exposure, it’s become so internalized in our society that is it simply not questioned. If I can be thin, then I’ll be happier and healthier and everything else will fall into place. That’s how it works, right?

Wrong.

We need to uncouple this idea that achieving a particular physical appearance will make a person more content and the rest of their troubles will melt away. But the diet industry is banking on the fact that weight loss and happiness forever remained intertwined. I mean, who doesn’t want to be happy??

Dieting focuses on only one piece of the puzzle, but there is not one single thing that influences happiness, health, and for that matter, skinniness. There are countless factors that contribute to how someone looks on the outside – access to food, eating habits, cultural habits, sleep, exercise, mental state, medical problems, medications, cosmetic enhancement, socioeconomic class, and that’s naming only a few. And let’s not forget about genetics.

Genetics play a role in influencing if someone is prone to being thinner or heavier. More than 400 different genes have been implicated in determining body size, but the strength of the genetic influence on weight varies from person to person. In some, genes account for just 25% of the predisposition to be overweight, while for others the genetic influence is as high as 70% to 80%. And it gets even more complicated as genes contribute to the causes of higher weight in many ways, by affecting appetite, satiety (the sense of fullness), metabolism, food cravings, body-fat distribution, and the tendency to use eating to cope with stress.

What diet do you know that considers all of these complex factors? I’m pretty sure The Zone isn’t examining your sleep habits and stressors and as they encourage you to buy their shakes and supplements.

Diets fail about 80% of the time, and most dieters will regain the weight, plus more, within 12 months. And of course, they do! The diet industry has no regard for creating lasting change, improving healthy habits long-term, and improving your health and well-being – quite the opposite. The diet industry fails the more you succeed at health and happiness!

What if we flipped the script?

What if we focused on the cause rather than the effect?

What if we supported the underlying issues rather than the number on the scale?

What if we focused on depression and anxiety and helped people better cope with their stressors?  

What if we provided nutrition education and helped decode all the labels and misleading advertising?

What if we offered non-intimidating nor shame-producing exercise options and let people feel their bodies and what they are capable of?

What if we took a closer look at sleep and determined what is preventing people from getting the rest they need?

What if we helped give people the tools of self-confidence and self-assurance?

What if we learned to like our bodies and could invest in ourselves rather than the latest diet craze?

Think of what we could achieve, let alone the money we would save!

And that is why we created CLIMB Health & Wellness. For this and so much more! To be here for you in your entirety, to support and guide and encourage you to be more than the number on the scale and to truly be your best in mind, body and spirit. And I couldn’t be happier to contribute to this change.