Have you ever obsessively weighed yourself? Counted, counted, counted…and conducted a series of complex mathematical equations to check how and where your calories add up. And everytime the number on the weighing scale isn't the golden standard of beauty you make a firm promise to begin your diet.
All of this constitutes diet culture: it is a set of beliefs that values thinness, appearance and shape above health and well-being. Diet culture is especially prevalent in Indian society - from aunties who pinpoint the flaws in your belly bulge and elbow fat to friends who complain about the calories they'll have to burn after having this huge, sugary Starbucks coffee to Bollywood stars who advocate for unrealistic eight-packs achieved by a protein shake a day.
Social media plays an essential role in furthering diet culture by making people feel bad for having normal bodies. The photoshopped images and constantly changing trends of what body type is appealing or even acceptable leads to comparisons between our own bodies and those of models, actors, influencers. In hopes to reach the ideal slim body type - cutting back on certain foods, skipping meals and exercising for extreme durations becomes normalised. Moreover, social media and diet culture may contribute to low self-esteem, anxiety and eating disorders like anorexia as users begin to equate thinness to beauty.
It doesn't matter that each body is different. It doesn't matter that one person's version of health may not match yours. It doesn't matter that genetics plays a large role in determining whether your body is fat or thin. It doesn't matter that metabolism differs across individuals. All that matters is achieving the seemingly perfect body. Diet culture is weaponized by the media and corporations and has devastating effects on societal beliefs and self-images - the more we buy into this ideology, the more we risk our own physical, emotional and mental health. The sooner we embrace natural, diverse bodies, the better it will be for society in the long run.