Diet culture is pervasive in our society. From weight loss pills to juice cleanses, it can seem like everyone is on a diet. But have you ever stopped to think about what these diets are doing to our mental and physical health?
In this blog post, we’ll be taking a deeper look at some shocking statistics about diet culture that you need to know.
How Does Diet Culture Affect People?
We live in a world where dieting and weight loss are often presented as the keys to happiness and success. But have you ever stopped to think about the effects that this culture has on your mental well-being? From social stigma to personal insecurities, diet culture can have an impact that goes far beyond physical health.
Diet culture presents a narrow, unattainable standard of beauty that is often based not on health but on thinness. This has been found to not only affect self-esteem and body image but can lead to disordered eating, negative feelings about food, and even depression. Constantly comparing yourself to the “perfect” bodies you see in the media can take a toll on your mental well-being.
Not only that, but diet culture often fosters a fear of certain foods or food groups. This can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food and eating disorders such as bulimia, anorexia or binge-eating disorder. This anxiety makes eating an unpleasant experience, adds to stress and anxiety, and can ultimately lead to depression.
Diet culture spreads the notion that being fat is bad and that it is a result of a lack of personal responsibility. This leads to social stigma and shame often directed toward overweight or obese individuals, creating an environment of discrimination, poor body image, and low self-esteem.
Without being in tune with your body’s natural hunger and fullness cues, it is hard to maintain a healthy relationship with food for the long term. Diet culture, through its insistence on calorie counting, food tracking, and other obsessive behaviors, actively disrupts the natural practice of intuitive eating. As a result, you may lose touch with your body’s true needs, leading to poor physical and mental health.
Diet Culture Statistics – Highlights
- About 45 million Americans diet every year.
- Nearly half of all New Year’s resolutions in the US are based on fitness, with about 40% based on weight loss.
- The most common symptoms of disordered eating related to dieting include lack of energy (affecting 43% of people), sleep issues, feelings of depression, and low self-esteem.
- 31% of Americans feel pressured to diet during the holidays.
- Of elementary school girls (ages 6-12), 40-60% are concerned about their weight or about becoming too fat.
About 45 million Americans diet every year.
Source: Boston Medical Center
This comes as no surprise, as the pressure to have the perfect body is everywhere. The media has created a narrative that thin is beautiful and that beauty is the only way to win friends, partners, or opportunities.
The problem with this narrative is that it promotes unrealistic and unattainable beauty standards that can lead to unhealthy behavior around food and weight.
Nearly half of all New Year’s resolutions in the US are based on fitness, with about 40% based on weight loss.
Source: Statista
As the year comes to an end, people start to evaluate their accomplishments, and for many, losing weight or sticking to a diet is a priority. People start the year with the best of intentions, but the pressure to lose weight quickly can lead to dangerous methods, such as crash diets or extreme exercise regimes.
Eating disorders cost $64.7 billion to American society in just one year.
Source: Harvard University
Eating disorders are among the most dangerous mental illnesses that people can suffer from, and it can lead to long-term health issues if not treated correctly.
The cost of treatment can be astronomical, and most people do not have the resources to cover the cost. The effects can be devastating not only to the individual but also to their family and society.
28.8 million Americans will have an eating disorder in their lifetime.
Source: Harvard University
This is a staggering amount, and it shows that eating disorders are not a small problem, and it does not discriminate. It affects men and women, young and old, and can arise from various sources, from the pressure to fit in society to health conditions that require dietary restrictions.
The most common symptoms of disordered eating related to dieting include lack of energy (affecting 43% of people), sleep issues, feelings of depression, and low self-esteem.
Source: Within Health
Dieting has been linked with negative physical and mental health outcomes, and it can lead to disordered eating. The body needs a certain amount of nutrients to function, and if it does not get enough, it can lead to fatigue, mood swings, and other symptoms that can affect a person’s quality of life.
Less than 6% of people with eating disorders are medically diagnosed as underweight.
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
You might think that people with eating disorders are those whom we commonly associate with malnourishment or extreme loss of weight. However, this is not the case. Many individuals with eating disorders maintain their ideal body weight, but their relationship with food and their body is extremely unhealthy.
The fact that people with eating disorders don’t have a ‘typical’ physical appearance makes it harder to diagnose them, which in turn leads to more dangerous health complications.
10,200 deaths each year are the direct result of an eating disorder.
Source: National Institutes of Health
This statistic is not to be taken lightly. Eating disorders are serious illnesses that affect not only a person’s physical health but also their mental wellbeing. People who suffer from eating disorders are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.
The pressure to conform to beauty standards, combined with a lack of resources for mental health support, has contributed to the alarming number of deaths each year.
46% of 9-11-year-olds are sometimes or very often on diets.
Source: Journal of Adolescent Health
This statistic is equally alarming, to say the least. Children as young as nine are already being influenced by diet culture, which can lead to harmful eating habits later in life. Instead of promoting healthy eating habits in children, we’ve normalized the idea of dieting to attain an ideal body.
Diet culture has perpetuated the belief that we need to change our appearances to feel accepted in society, leading to disordered eating, and ultimately leading to long-term health problems.
31% of Americans feel pressured to diet during the holidays.
Source: Within Health
The holiday season is a time for decadent meals and enjoying food without guilt. However, this is not the case for everyone.
The pressure to stay fit and in shape during the holiday season is a significant source of stress for many Americans. This creates a toxic environment where people deny themselves the pleasure of eating the food they love in fear of gaining weight. This statistic highlights how the diet culture has ingrained itself in our society so deeply that people cannot even enjoy the holiday season without feeling guilty.
35% of dieting becomes obsessive, with 20 to 25% of those diets turning into eating disorders.
Source: The National Eating Disorders Association
This statistic from The National Eating Disorders Association highlights the dangerous link between dieting and disordered eating. It’s not uncommon for someone to start a diet with the intention of losing weight but then become consumed with the numbers and the process. When a healthy diet turns into an unhealthy obsession, it can lead to an eating disorder like anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder.
Between 10-20% of women and 4-10% of men in college have eating disorders.
Source: The National Eating Disorders Association
College can be a difficult time for many students, and the pressure to conform to societal beauty standards can make things even harder. This statistic from The National Eating Disorders Association highlights the prevalence of eating disorders on college campuses. It’s important to note that eating disorders can affect anyone, regardless of their gender, age, or ethnicity.
Among college students, 44% of women and 27% of men diet to lose weight.
Source: The National Eating Disorders Association
This statistic from The National Eating Disorders Association shows just how normalized dieting culture has become. Many people view dieting as a harmless way to shed a few pounds, but when dieting turns into an obsession, it can lead to serious health consequences.
95% of all dieters will regain their lost weight in 1-5 years.
Source: The Council on Size and Weight Discrimination
This statistic from The Council on Size and Weight Discrimination reveals a harsh truth about dieting – it doesn’t work for most people. When we focus on short-term weight loss goals rather than a long-term healthy lifestyle, we often end up gaining back the weight we lost and potentially even more.
Over 50% of teenage girls and 33% of teenage boys are using restrictive measures to lose weight at any given time.
Source: Eating Disorder Hope
This statistic from Eating Disorder Hope highlights how early diet culture can start to affect our youth. Teenagers are often vulnerable to negative body image and societal pressures, and dieting can exacerbate these struggles. When young people start to engage in restrictive or harmful measures to lose weight, it can have long-lasting effects on their mental and physical health.
39% of dieters are stricter on weekdays than weekends.
Source: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
This shows just how much diet culture can control our lives – we’re willing to restrict ourselves even on days when we could be enjoying food without guilt. It’s important to remember that balance is key, and we should never feel guilty about enjoying our favorite foods.
Of elementary school girls (ages 6-12) 40-60% are concerned about their weight or about becoming too fat.
Source: US Department of Health and Human Services
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, between 40-60% of elementary school girls are already concerned about their weight or becoming too fat. This just goes to show how pervasive diet culture is, and how important it is to promote body positivity and self-love.
The incidence of bulimia in 10-39 year old women has tripled between 1988 and 1993. The numbers now are likely higher.
Source: National Association of Eating Disorders
While more recent statistics are not available, it’s likely that the numbers are even higher today. It’s crucial to prioritize our mental health over diet culture, and to seek help if we’re struggling with an eating disorder.
41% of Americans have tried the low-carb diet, while 37% have tried intermittent fasting.
Source: Within Health
While these diets may work for some people, they’re not sustainable in the long term and can even be harmful to our health. It’s important to remember that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to dieting, and to prioritize a balanced, sustainable approach to nutrition.
27% of Americans are dieting because a doctor recommended they do so.
Source: Within Health
While some people may have legitimate health reasons for dieting, it’s concerning to see just how many Americans are dieting at any given time, as you’ll see in the statistic below.
32% of Americans diet during only certain times of the year.
Source: Within Health
It’s important to remember that our bodies are not meant to constantly be in a state of restriction and that true health means prioritizing balance over deprivation.
Final Thoughts
Diet culture is a pervasive force in our society, and these statistics show just how much it’s affecting us as individuals and as a whole. It’s crucial that we prioritize our mental and physical health over society’s expectations for our bodies, and that we promote body positivity and self-love instead of restrictive dieting.
By taking a balanced, sustainable approach to nutrition, we can cultivate a healthier relationship with food and our bodies.
