Why Dieting Doesn’t Work
Within Western culture, the mainstream beauty standard currently dictates that thinness is the ideal. Where there exists a specific standard, anything outside of that becomes problematic and unfavourable. The concept of Body Mass Index (BMI) is an extension of this weight-normative approach, asserting that there is a normal (narrow) range of acceptable and healthy weight, and that individuals should achieve and maintain a weight within these parameters. Such judgement encourages the development of weight bias and stigma in society, including within healthcare settings.
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Beliefs and preferences for or against particular shapes and sizes (directed towards self and/or other)
e.g. "I don't like my body shape"; "I don't like their body shape"
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Negative social impact of weight bias and discrimination. For example, having limited or no options for people living in larger bodies to sit, such as on a plane, or in a restaurant or cinema. This is particularly prevalent in medical settings where seating, gowns and examination tables are often unable to accommodate people with higher weight.
These forces of beauty standards, a weight-normative approach, weight bias and then weight stigma naturally builds pressure on individuals to focus on weight. Weight loss can reduce exposure to weight stigma and bias, and increase access to physical spaces. Losing weight and indeed eating disordered behaviours may also be actively encouraged by others given the cultural construction of beauty.
Consciously restricting or controlling food intake in order to lose weight or maintain a ‘suppressed’ weight encompasses a wide variety of behaviours, attitudes, body shapes and sizes. Weight suppression refers to the differential between your highest adult weight and your current weight. It can involve avoiding particular types of eating situations because of concern of the foods present. It could involve avoiding particular groups or types of food, or simply feeling like you’re constantly failing with what you’re eating.
Weight suppression (and dieting generally) has been likened to the concept of holding your breath underwater. We can hold our breath underwater for a certain period of time, and some people get really good at it and can stay under for extended periods, but eventually we all need to come up for air.
Weight suppression manifests differently for different individuals, and occurs across the weight spectrum. Being weight suppressed does not necessarily mean that you are underweight. No matter the variety, weight suppression can lead to uncomfortable, harmful and serious health consequences.
Mental Health Impacts:
Maintains an excessive focus on weight and shape and their importance
Level of control and restraint required creates stress and pressure that impacts upon mood and anxiety
Interferes with social functioning and relationships
Maintains body dissatisfaction
Feeds an externalised view of self (self-objectification) - judging yourself as if from the outside
Increased vulnerability to eating disorders
Physical Health Impacts:
Low energy availability
Reduction in basal metabolic rate
Changes to appetite hormones
Survival mechanism
Brain interprets losing weight and restrictive behaviours as being in the context of a famine, ramps up appetite stimulating hormones (e.g. ghrelin) and reduces satiety hormones (e.g. CCK)
Digestive changes
Internal distress and discomfort can be experienced with bowel changes, bloating and reflux
Increased vulnerability to binge eating and weight gain in the long-term.
Regular eating is the foundation of all treatment of eating disorders. Dieting is one of the major predisposing factors in the development of eating disorders. Establishing regular eating by itself can begin to reverse the physical and mental health impacts of weight suppression.
If you are concerned about your eating or that of someone you love, don’t hesitate to connect to a health professional with expertise in eating disorders. ANZAED have a system that identifies clinicians with a special interest and training in eating disorders:
