Have you ever felt guilty for eating foods deemed “unhealthy” or “bad” while glorifying “clean” foods as your sole source of nourishment? Do you struggle with the constant “should” and “should not” around food? Does your list of “safe” foods feel restrictive, while the “trigger” foods make you feel anxious? Can you no longer trust yourself around food—the very thing that’s meant to keep you alive and energized?
Food guilt is a common feeling that many experience, but how did we get to a place where food— something meant to nourish us— becomes a source of shame and anxiety? In this article, we’ll break down the toxic influence of diet culture and how it has infiltrated the dance world. We’ll explore why one of the core values of The Healthy Dancer® framework is about dismantling dancer diet culture.
What Is Diet Culture?
Diet culture is a system of beliefs that prioritizes weight loss above all else. It teaches that thinness is synonymous with health, and in this pursuit of “health,” certain foods are either demonized or glorified. Diet culture imposes moral judgments on our food choices, leading to the belief that we’re “good” for eating “healthy” foods and “bad” for indulging in those labeled “unhealthy.”
Why Is Diet Culture Harmful?
The destructive pursuit of the “thin ideal”— especially for dancers striving for the “ideal ballet body”— teaches us that to excel, we must conform to a body standard deeply rooted in privilege. Diet culture disproportionately favors smaller bodies and oppresses those in larger bodies, creating an environment of weight bias that impacts people in multiple ways.
At a personal level, individuals in larger bodies face body-shaming and bullying, often starting in school. On a societal level, they experience systemic oppression, such as difficulty finding clothes that fit or even fitting comfortably in public spaces like airplane seats. While anyone can experience body dissatisfaction, those in smaller bodies (like myself) don’t face the same level of systemic bias as those in larger bodies. I talk more about thin privilege here. Here are some other common ways in which weight bias shows up in our world:
- Limited access to adequate healthcare for those in larger bodies
- Clothing availability is restricted, with larger sizes less likely to be stocked in mainstream stores
- Reduced physical activity due to societal weight stigma, regardless of body size
- Employment discrimination, with those in larger bodies less likely to be hired
The Truth About Diet, Weight, and Health
Diet culture sells us the idea that losing weight will make us healthier. However, evidence consistently shows that diet and lifestyle factors only account for a small portion of an individual’s body weight. Genetics, environmental factors, and the social determinants of health (such as access to affordable, nutrient-dense foods) have a far greater influence on body size and weight. The social determinants of health are circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, and work. These circumstances are shaped by systemic forces, including economics and social policies.
In fact, research reveals that weight stigma—discrimination based on body size—is an independent risk factor for a variety of negative health outcomes. This chronic stress contributes to poor mental and physical health, and studies show that weight loss efforts (like dieting) fail 98% of the time and for those “successful weight-loss maintainers,” eating behaviors parallel disordered eating.
What About Metabolic Risk and Disease?
The focus on body weight as a primary indicator of health has been challenged by experts such as Christy Harrison, who delves into this topic in her Food Psych podcast and Anti-Diet book. While weight is often cited as a risk factor for metabolic diseases like cardiovascular disease and diabetes, weight cycling (a result of yo-yo dieting) is itself an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease— and even leads to decreased bone density.
Surprisingly, research has found little evidence linking sugar consumption to diabetes risk, while intuitive eating has been associated with better diabetes management. This emphasizes the importance of tuning into our bodies’ natural hunger cues rather than adhering to restrictive diets.
The Pursuit of Wellness in Dance
Diet culture is insidious— it doesn’t require strict dieting to infiltrate your mindset. The idea of “wellness” and “clean eating” is another way diet culture sneaks into our lives, leading us to second-guess our food choices. Instead of choosing foods based on personal preferences and positive emotional experiences, we often base our decisions on whether we perceive ourselves as “good” or staying on track.
Christy Harrison notes that the wellness industry has replaced traditional diet talk with terms like “clean,” “pure,” and “detox.” This “modern guise of diet culture” as Harrison calls it, still pushes us to seek perfection in our food choices and bodies, albeit with more “lifestyle” language.
Why Dancers Need To Challenge Diet Culture
Dancers are especially vulnerable to the negative effects of diet culture. Weight bias is alive and well in dance studios, where roles are often reserved for dancers in smaller bodies. This environment pushes dancers to exert extreme effort—spending time, energy, and money on changing their bodies.
Dieting and over-exercising contribute to the development of disordered eating and eating disorders, both of which are all too common in the dance world. Fear of weight gain often complicates a dancer’s ability to heal their relationship with food.
How Can Dancers Ditch Diet Culture?
The diet industry is a 72-billion-dollar business, and it’s not going away anytime soon. So, how can dancers dismantle its harmful grip? Techniques like intuitive eating can help, but it’s challenging to sustain when immersed in an environment where diet and body messaging is constant. Here are five actionable tips:
- Cultivate a supportive community – surround yourself with people who embrace body diversity and positive body image. The Healthy Dancer® Winter Intensive offers a virtual space for dancers who want to dismantle diet culture and make peace with food. You can also learn more about intuitive eating for dancers here.
- Seek professional help – work with registered dietitians and mental health professionals trained in the treatment of disordered eating.
- Detox your social media – unfollow accounts that induce body comparisons and negative self-talk.
- Diversify your feed – follow dancers of all shapes, sizes, colors, and abilities to reduce implicit bias and increase body acceptance.
- Educate yourself – Learn more about weight bias and its harmful impact. Christy Harrison’s work is an excellent starting point.
Dancer Diet Culture: Key Takeaways
Body weight and size are largely out of our control. Intentional efforts to lose weight (like restrictive eating) not only fail in the long run but perpetuate a culture that negatively impacts much of the population. For dancers, diet culture is one of the leading contributors to disordered eating and eating disorders. Breaking free from diet culture is the key to flourishing in all aspects of well-being— physical, mental, and emotional.
