Examples of Diet Culture and How They Impact Men

It’s no secret that diet culture is harmful, pervasive, cruel and unrealistic. Often it sneaks up on us when we least expect it, and we can be deeply impacted for a long time because of the harsh, unattainable standards it tells us we need to strive for.

What is diet culture?

Diet culture is made up of the idea that thinness, appearance, and shape are more important than health and wellness. To uphold diet culture’s values, people are encouraged to limit calories, engage in negative self-talk and label foods as “good” or “bad.” 

Furthermore, diet culture tricks people into believing that thinness and dieting leads to health and that those who are thin are morally superior. 

When we think of diet culture, we often think of women and how they are affected. Men are often left out of the conversation, so we wanted to highlight examples of diet culture in everyday life to highlight how men are often affected. However, it’s important to remember that people of all ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, genders, and ages are impacted by diet culture’s messages. 

What are examples of diet culture in everyday life?

Examples of diet culture are everywhere. Some are apparent while others can be more subtle. Clear examples include weight loss dieting ads, calorie tracking apps, labeling food as “good” or “bad” (where burgers are “bad” and salads are “good”) and striving for thinness by any means necessary. 

On the other hand, subtle examples include being encouraged to exercise to burn off calories, moralizing certain foods, eating only good “clean” or “whole foods,” avoiding added sweeteners or refined carbohydrates, participating in cheat days, praising weight loss, counting calories,  and restricting food groups. 

Diet culture creates harm and leads to disordered eating and unhealthy relationships with food and body. It also adds a lot of noise about what and what not to eat. This leads to confusion and  makes it difficult for people to determine what to eat on their own. (This is where a registered dietitian can come in, so you can actually learn the truth behind nutrition and improve your relationship with food!)

In addition, fitness culture, which is promoted by examples of diet culture that idealize the muscular, “ideal” male body, contributes to society’s idea of the “perfect guy.” Unfortunately, this can wreak havoc on men’s body image, as diet culture idealizes a physique that isn’t realistic for most people.

How can the examples of diet culture affect men?

Constantly being bombarded with messages from diet culture can have a variety of impacts on guys. For example, some find it difficult to regularly go to the gym, as they’re self-conscious of their body when it doesn’t fit the thin, muscular ideal.  Of course, this makes it hard to create a workout routine and reap the health benefits that movement provides.

Many men also develop strong beliefs around food, such as carbs being bad, and can therefore develop a hyperfixation with protein or other nutrients. However, this means people who fear carbs are likely missing out on important nutrients before workouts and in life in general. Lacking key nutrients can lead to deficiencies, low energy, extreme hunger, overeating, poor sleep and disease development.

Other people might feel as though they’re “addicted” to “junk food” because they constantly deprive themselves of this type of food and subsequently can’t stop thinking about it. Then when they do allow themselves to eat those foods, they feel out of control, experience extreme guilt for their actions and begin the binge-restrict cycle over again.

As with women, diet culture plays a role in developing eating disorders in men. In fact, 25 percent of people diagnosed with an ED are males, and 10 million men will be impacted by an eating disorder at some point during their lives.

What can be done to overcome the challenges of diet culture?

Dealing with the many examples of diet culture and their side effects every day can be exhausting. Fortunately, working with a non diet registered dietitian can help you ditch the diet and heal your relationship with food and body.

One on one nutrition counseling with Jamie will help you start a meal planning and mindful eating practice, reach your nutrition goals and have someone to talk through your food related struggles.

Jamie works with clients who have disordered eating, body image issues and more. Schedule a call today to see if you might make a good team to reach your goals!