Dangerous Dieting
an essay by Minde

Molly, a 14-year-old girl, begins to feel uncomfortable about the way she looks. She hates the reflection she sees in the mirror, and she decides to take action. Although she is at a normal weight, the insecurities she has about herself and her appearance compel her to search for the “perfect diet” to bring her self-acceptance. Little does she know that her dabbling in diets will lead her to a full blown eating disorder that will take years of treatment to recover from. Of course, not every dieter will go to the extreme of developing an eating disorder, but dieting can affect us in other harmful ways. Even though dieting is glamorized in today’s society, we must be aware that our time, relationships, and health may be lost in the pursuit of an unrealistic ideal.

First, let me clarify what I mean by the term dieting. The definition according to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) is “any attempts in the name of weight loss, ‘healthy eating,’ or body sculpting to deny your body of essential, well-balanced nutrients and calories it needs to function to its fullest capacity.” They also define a dieting mindset as “when dissatisfaction with your natural body shape or size leads to a decision to actively change your physical body weight or shape.” It is the dieting that stems from self-hatred and rejection that stirs my heart. Will we ever be free to love ourselves?

The misconception that thinness equals happiness permeates our culture. The media shouts messages every day about the way we should look. NEDA states that “a study of 4,294 network television commercials revealed that 1 out of every 3.8 commercials send some sort of ‘attractiveness message,’ telling viewers what is or not attractive. These researchers estimate that the average adolescent sees over 5,260 ‘attractiveness messages’ per year.” Who defines attractiveness anyway? We cross the line of judgment when we make rules about how a person should look. It is wrong to esteem those who are thin and to criticize those who are not. Molly is living proof that thinness does not equal happiness. She was less than 80 lbs and still felt “fat” and unhappy. Happiness is not found in thinness. On the contrary, happiness is enjoying life no matter what size and shape we may be. It is accepting the way God created us. It is living for a greater purpose than achieving thinness.

Time is on the mind of a dieter. An advertisement in Prevention magazine reads, “Lose up to thirteen pounds in the first two weeks alone!” We see it all the time. The mentality is the faster we can lose weight, the sooner we will be able to enjoy life. But does enjoyment come by denying our bodies of the very thing they need to function? According to NEDA, “ninety-five percent of all dieters regain their lost weight and more within one to five years.” We could spend our entire life trying to obtain success in weight loss through dieting without ever meeting our goal. Or if we do, we could spend the rest of our life trying to maintain it. I would be curious to know how much time we actually spend thinking about food and weight. But then again, I don’t want to know. I have a feeling it’s more than what we would want to spend on it. Yet, by being in tune with our bodies we can cut back on some of those minutes, or maybe even hours, that we spend worrying and fretting over food and weight. Instead, we must learn to listen to our bodies by eating when we are hungry, eating what our bodies are hungry for, and stopping once we are satisfied. Then we will be able to enjoy life and have time to do it.

We also may think that losing weight will attract more friends. Actually, dieting often promotes isolation. Situations surrounded by food may have to be avoided, and the shame of our bodies may keep us in hiding. Comparison can also affect relationships. We may feel intimated by others who seem more attractive or thin. The comments made by others may seem to boost our confidence, and we may feel more accepted, but are we only what we weigh? Of course we aren’t, so the acceptance in not unconditional. However, being free from the strict rules of dieting allows us to be in any situation without feeling uncomfortable or anxious about food. We also will be able to eat what our friends are eating without feeling guilty for doing it. Additionally, when we learn to accept our unique and individual size and shape, we will stop measuring our self-worth by what others are and what we are not. And most importantly, we need to remember that true friends will accept us the way we are, and will encourage us to be all that we can be.

Another reason we may go on diets is to become healthier. In some cases, weight may need to be lost because of serious health conditions. The best approach in this situation is to get professional help to determine the most appropriate treatment for a specific condition. However, the diets I am referring to affect our health negatively. Some physical side effects from prolonged dieting include increased risk of heart disease, the slowing down of the body’s natural metabolism, and lack of important nutrients. In addition, there is loss of muscular strength and endurance, decreased oxygen utilization, thinning hair, loss of coordination, dehydration and electrolyte imbalances, fainting, weakness, and slowed heart rates.

Dieting also affects the mind. Reaction time becomes slower, concentration becomes more difficult, and thoughts may be filled with obsessions about food and weight. Depression, low self-esteem, and increased stress are other ways dieting affects the mind. As was in Molly’s case, diets may even lead to eating disorders. So if dieting doesn’t make us healthy, what does? It is balance and moderation, not extremes. For instance, eating a variety of foods, without labeling them as “good” or “bad.” An article in SELF reads, “You are not what you eat. You are not ‘so good today’ if you ate like a bunny or ‘so bad’ if you had something on your no-no list. Unless you’re a cannibal, what you eat is in no way a reflection of your moral character.” My motto is that God wouldn’t have made food with taste unless He wanted us to enjoy it. Another way to treat our bodies with respect is to find a form of exercise that we enjoy and do it regularly.