Letters | Why weight loss need not be your definition of success in 2022
- The slew of ads promoting a “new you” linked to weight loss are part of a harmful culture that links our worth to our body size
- Ads on social media promoting weight loss pressure us to present this slimmer version of ourselves to show how ‘perfect’ our lives have become
There is nothing wrong with wanting to lose weight. It is the tactic of the diet industry that I am criticising here. They put forward the idea that the “new you” in the “new year” is inseparable from your body weight. The number on the scale determines how much you have achieved over the year.
You might have landed your dream job and bought your first car, but you’re not successful enough because you’ve gained weight. You’re still the same old lazy person who eats more than you visit the gym.
On the contrary, if you’ve lost weight, you’ve become a better version of yourself – more disciplined and regulated.
Diet mentality is harmful to our health because it equates our worth with the indicator that least reflects it – body weight. We become accustomed to determining our success by our body size.
02:14
Boy starts exercising tearfully after teacher asks if he gained weight
Together with all the before-and-after posts on social media, we feel pressured to present this slimmer version of ourselves to the world as an indicator of how “perfect” our lives have become.