Diet culture has done a fine job of making many of us feel guilty about the “pandemic pounds” they’ve put on. There has been an uproar in the bombardment of media messages guilt-tripping those that have gained weight in the name of “health” during these incredibly stressful times of COVID-19. Although these types of messages have particularly saturated the media this past year, it is, sadly, an ideology that is deeply embedded in culture and society. This narrative implies that “getting healthy” is synonymous with losing weight, and that gaining weight is synonymous with “unhealthy” behaviors. This framing can be seen coming from loved ones, social media, influencers, advertisements, and even the “news,” despite its presumptuousness and inaccuracy.
The assumption that weight loss is inherently healthy, and that weight gain is inherently unhealthy is an extremely misguided association that has serious implications. When someone notices that another has lost weight, several automatic presumptions take place. These include that the weight loss was intentional, welcomed, and/or the product of that individual adopting “healthier” behaviors. Furthermore, people often comment on their observations in a praise-framing manner with things like “Congratulations! You look like you’ve lost weight,” “Wow! You’re looking slim, good for you,” or “What’s your diet & exercise regimen?! You’re looking fabulous!” Often times it’s not considered that the change was not intentional?
On the other hand, when someone notices that another has gained weight, it tends to be presumed that the weight gain was unintentional, unwelcomed, and the product of that individual adopting “unhealthy” behaviors. Comments that may come as a result may sound something like, “You should start exercising more, you’ve looked like you’ve put on weight,” “You probably shouldn’t eat that, considering your size,” or “Have you heard about [insert diet here]? You should try it out.” These comments are all blame-framing and ultimately lead to the guilt, shame, and embarrassment of the individual receiving them.
It is often not considered: what if they have a medical condition or have been prescribed a medication that causes weight gain? What if they are struggling with an eating disorder? What if they are in recovery from an eating disorder? What if they’ve recently had a child or experienced a major life event such as losing a loved one? What if they gained weight while in the process of curing their extreme hunger or recovering from compulsive exercise? What if they’ve gained weight as a result of incorporating more nutritious food into their diet? The shame and stress that comes from these comments can lead to an individual retreating back to disordered eating behavior, exacerbate the stress of the struggles that have triggered their weight gain, and provoke a lack of trust in oneself. 99.99% of the time, these types of comments are doing more harm than good, despite whatever intention might have fueled them.
