Reshaping our Definition of “Diet Culture”

Authored by: Srijita Kommaraju

Art by: Kaitlyn Truong

Diet culture is advertised as the solution to many chronic health problems, including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, but a lot of research suggests it can actually increase the rates of chronic disease instead of preventing it. But how can dieting, a phenomenon so glorified in society, actually be harmful to human health? 

By pushing repeated dieting, glorifying thinness, and normalizing judgment of larger bodies, diet culture creates conditions that work against long‑term health.

A key problem with diet culture is weight cycling, or “yo‑yo dieting.” People are told that intentional weight loss is good for health, but most people who lose weight through restrictive dieting end up regaining it, often more than they lost in the first place [1]. This pattern of losing and regaining is not just frustrating; it is linked to higher risk of type 2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic problems [2]. 

A meta‑analysis by Kakinami et al found that people whose weight went up and down over time had a significantly higher chance of developing type 2 diabetes than people whose weight stayed more stable, even after controlling for their starting BMI [3]. In that sense, constantly going on and off of diets may be more damaging than staying at a higher but steady weight [3]. 

Diet culture also harms health through weight stigma. In a society that rewards thinness as proof of discipline and good health, people who have larger body types are often blamed and shamed for their size. This kind of stigma acts as a chronic stressor that causes physical impairments on the body over time [4]. A study of U.S. adults showed that people who reported being discriminated against because of their weight were about twice as likely to have high allostatic load compared to those who did not report weight‑based discrimination. [5]  Allostatic load is a measure of “wear and tear” across multiple organ systems, including blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and inflammation. Higher scores indicate that bodies are working harder just to maintain basic functions [5]. This link between weight stigma and allostatic load stayed constant even after controlling for BMI and other types of discrimination, which suggests that the experience of being judged for weight adds its own biological strain [3].​

This constant stress shows up in the body’s physiology. When someone is repeatedly exposed to stigma, their stress response systems are more likely to stay activated. Over time, this can lead to elevated cortisol and more abdominal fat, which are both tied to diabetes and cardiovascular disease [6]. 

Diet culture also shapes behavior in harmful ways. Individuals who use negative language regarding healthy eating assume that shame and fear will push people toward “better” choices, but research suggests that this stigma actually leads to more disordered eating and less consistent self‑care [2]. People who experience weight stigma report more binge eating, emotional eating, and avoidance of exercise [7]. This cycle of strict dieting, feelings of failure, and then overeating is exactly the kind of pattern that ruins a person’s relationship with food [7]. 

On top of that, diet culture affects how and whether people interact with the healthcare system [8]. Many larger patients avoid medical appointments because they are afraid of being judged or having every concern blamed on their size. This avoidance means conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure may be caught later, when they are harder to manage [8]. For those who do go to the doctor, repeated experiences of bias and dismissal can make it hard to trust providers and get the treatment they deserve.  

Overall, these patterns show that diet culture’s focus on thinness and weight loss can increase chronic disease risk in several ways. Therefore, many public health and medical scholars argue for weight‑inclusive, behavior‑focused alternatives. Instead of making weight loss the primary goal, these approaches focus on sustainable habits, like flexible eating, active, enjoyable movement, adequate sleep, and stress reducers. They also treat weight stigma itself as a health issue, by emphasizing respectful, nonjudgmental care so that people feel safe seeking help. Early research suggests that these models can not only improve metabolic markers, but also mental well‑being.​

If the goal is truly to prevent chronic disease, then it is important to consider these factors, and for society to start shifting away from traditional diet culture and its obsession with thinness. Incorporating more weight‑inclusive, behavior‑centered care is not just kinder, but instrumental to the longitudinal health of a patient. 

References:

1. MacLean, P. S., Bergouignan, A., Cornier, M.-A., & Jackman, M. R. (2011). Biology’s response to dieting: the impetus for weight regain. American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 301(3), R581–R600. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpregu.00755.2010

2. The Dangers of Yo-Yo Dieting | American Diabetes Association. (2020, December 3). Diabetesfoodhub.org. https://diabetesfoodhub.org/blog/dangers-yo-yo-dieting

3. Kakinami, L., Knäuper, B., & Brunet, J. (2020). Weight Cycling Is Associated with Adverse Cardiometabolic Markers in a cross-sectional Representative US Sample. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 74(8), jech-2019-213419. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2019-213419 

4. Brown, A., Flint, S. W., & Batterham, R. L. (2022). Pervasiveness, Impact and Implications of Weight Stigma. EClinicalMedicine, 47(101408), 101408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101408

5. Rodriquez, E. J., Kim, E. N., Sumner, A. E., Nápoles, A. M., & Pérez-Stable, E. J. (2019). Allostatic Load: Importance, Markers, and Score Determination in Minority and Disparity Populations. Journal of Urban Health, 96(S1), 3–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-019-00345-5

6. Tomiyama, A. J., Epel, E. S., McClatchey, T. M., Poelke, G., Kemeny, M. E., McCoy, S. K., & Daubenmier, J. (2014). Associations of weight stigma with cortisol and oxidative stress independent of adiposity. Health Psychology, 33(8), 862–867. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000107

7. Salvia, M. G., Ritholz, M. D., Craigen, K. L. E., & Quatromoni, P. A. (2023). Women’s perceptions of weight stigma and experiences of weight-neutral treatment for binge eating disorder: A qualitative study. EClinicalMedicine, 56, 101811. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101811

8. Phelan, S. M., Burgess, D. J., Yeazel, M. W., Hellerstedt, W. L., Griffin, J. M., & van Ryn, M. (2015). Impact of Weight Bias and Stigma on Quality of Care and Outcomes for Patients with Obesity. Obesity Reviews : An Official Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 16(4), 319–326. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12266