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Key points
- Diet and Wellness Culture moralize food as good or bad, virtuous or sinful.
- When we make food moral, we develop beliefs about our superiority or inferiority related to eating behaviors.
- This moralizing harms people in eating disorder recovery and people who lack the privilege to access health.
Have you ever heard the Diet Culture adage, “You are what you eat”? The idea that your entire selfhood is dependent on your food choices says everything about our culture’s association of self-control with moral goodness.
You can see this in something as simple as going out to dinner with a group of friends. One friend talks of how they want a cheeseburger but they’d better be “good” and order the salad. Another friend feels like they have to explain their choices, letting you know that they’re getting the pizza but it’s OK because they worked out that morning so they “deserve a treat.”
"Good" or "Bad"
When it comes to health-related choices, every decision can be categorized as good or bad, praiseworthy or guilt-inducing. You’re being “disciplined” (code for “good”) if you wake up at five in the morning for a boot camp class. You’re being “lazy” (code for “bad”) if you order takeout instead of cooking a homemade meal.
All you have to do is turn on the TV or go to the grocery store to see this good/bad binary in action. Food labels and restaurant menus market lower-calorie (or lower-carb or lower-fat) options as “smart.” On the other hand, calorie-dense foods are portrayed as “indulgent” or even “sinful.” Halo Top Ice Cream is a brand whose literal name implies virtue—you are angelic for eating ice cream with reduced calories! Trader Joe’s brands their lower-calorie products with the label of "Reduced Guilt," implying that not only have the calories and fat content (and, I’d add, the flavor and satisfaction!) been reduced, but also the guilt you’d be feeling if you committed the crime of eating a full-calorie bowl of macaroni and cheese.
Where do these categories come from, and how did they become so embedded in our vernacular?
Comforted by Categories
The thing is, we don’t just do this with diet and exercise. On some level, humans are comforted by good/bad labels of all varieties. Our brains are soothed by categories. For most of our species’ existence, it’s been useful for our survival to quickly parse out whether something (or someone) is good or bad, safe or unsafe. Yet, while it’s helpful to recognize whether the approaching beast is dangerous or harmless, or whether those red berries are safe or poisonous, we get ourselves into trouble when we try to categorize everything according to this good/bad binary.
When the messaging around us preys on our tendency to categorize, we come to moralize not just our choices but also ourselves. We attach judgments of good and bad to our habits, choices, thoughts, feelings, and entire existence.
We cling to the idea that if we’re doing the “right” things, we’re signaling to the world that we are dedicated to achieving well-being and happiness. This can make us feel responsible and inspiring and (whether we admit it consciously or not) it may make us feel like we’re “better” than all of the people who aren’t doing these things.
The problem is, we don’t just feel positive or superior when we eat kale or skip dessert; we also feel negative when we eat a cupcake or snooze the alarm. When we attach our self-worth to eating and exercise, not only does it have the power to build us up but it also has the power to crush our egos. If you feel like you’re doing something “bad” according to Diet Culture, your mind tells you that not only did you make a choice that was bad, but you, as a person, are bad.
On top of that, moral appraisals about food choices are false. One of the claims of Diet Culture is that you are totally in charge of your health and wellness and that your body size and your well-being are the direct results of what you eat and how active you are. But let’s face the truth: Even if everyone ate the exact same food and did the exact same physical activity, our bodies would still come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and would still have a wide variety of health outcomes.
Unequal Access
Plus, not everyone has equal access to the health behaviors viewed as “good.” You need some degree of privilege to participate in “wellness.” It’s expensive to buy fresh, organic produce and stock up on the latest “superfood” (which, incidentally, is just a buzzword used to popularize a normal fruit, nut, or seed; items labeled as “superfoods” contain no nutritional properties that make them any different from other fruits, nuts, or seeds). It takes time—a luxury not afforded to many who work long hours, face long commutes, or don’t have help with housework or childcare—to cook nutritious meals from scratch. Regular exercise takes time, physical ability, and a safe environment in which to be physically active—circumstances not everyone has.
At the end of the day, eating and exercising a certain way might benefit you or enhance your life. But it doesn’t make you good to do it, or bad to opt out. Only you can decide what’s meaningful for you, and it can help to remind yourself that it’s not all-or-nothing. One day, eating a homemade salad might be a healthy choice (for instance if you’re at home, have the time and finances, and are craving something fresh and nutrient-dense). Another day, getting fast food might be the healthiest option (if you have a limited budget, or you’re on the road and it’s your only option for nourishment, or if you simply need energy quickly).
Lastly, remember that health itself is not a moral value. If you care about health, that’s great. If you have other priorities, that’s allowed, too. And if you care about health, but, for you, health isn’t just about spinach and cardio, guess what? It’s your life, and you don’t have to prove your value through performing Diet Culture’s health rituals.
