Note: Some subjects are identified by pseudonyms to preserve their privacy due to the personal nature of this topic.
Diet culture has become intertwined with our society through the spread of internet-based “self improvement” challenges, especially around New Year’s where people are most dedicated to having a “fresh start.” According to an article by US News, nearly 46 percent of American adults said that they planned to start a new diet on 2025 New Year’s. One of the more popular diets is 75 hard, a strict diet where you must complete multiple 45 minute work outs, drink a gallon of water, and read a non-fiction book consecutively for 75 days. If even one of these rules is messed up, you must start over from day one. Though these diets are marketed towards adults, their effects on physical, mental, and emotional health have been felt even by teen participants from all over the United States, leading to high rates of body dysmorphia and eating disorders.
According to the National Organization for Women, 53 percent of American girls at age 13 are “unhappy with their bodies.” This grows to 78 percent by the time girls reach 17. Even more concerning, 40 to 60 percent of elementary schoolers are concerned about their weight or “becoming too fat.” This feeling of body dysmorphia is amplified since Photoshop has become increasingly mistaken as real life and diet “progress pictures” have become mainstream. Sharmila Shaik, a Berkeley High School sophomore, agrees with this sentiment, saying, “People with eating disorders on the internet will post their bodies, and many without those bodies will feel super jealous and yearn for that type of confidence, that type of body, that type of attraction.”
Eating disorders are rarely formed by just one factor. They are commonly caused by bullying, homelife, puberty, and even genetics. Psychological conditions like anxiety and depression have been linked to disordered eating. More notably, the changes that teens’ bodies go through during puberty, like gaining weight, are completely normal, but through social media posts, diet and fitness marketing, and “self help” programs like 75 hard, the media portrays them as faults that people have to triumph over. “Diet culture is super toxic for teens if they don’t have a good relationship with food and exercise,” Shaik notes, “You can’t have a good relationship with one without having a good relationship with the other.” When food becomes fear and exercise becomes punishment, surviving, let alone thriving, becomes an impossible daily struggle.
Social media-propelled diets are increasingly shifting away from health-focused goals and more towards their participants achieving a specific “desired look.” Jane — a pseudoym — a BHS freshman who completed 75 hard, said, “I feel like with social media, diet culture has become about more than just health, and I think it makes (dieting) more unhealthy for teenage girls.” BHS freshman Adeline — another pseudonym — who also completed 75 hard, echoes Jane’s thoughts. “It kind of makes me sad, because I see a lot of people because of social media, feel like they have to look a different way than they are. And so people cut carbs and people cut certain sugars and fats and stuff that aren’t as good for them, just because they don’t like their appearance,” Adeline said.
In a study conducted by the National Library of Medicine, researchers found out that one in eight young Americans have eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia. Restricting the amount of food that you are eating reduces the rate that you burn energy and increases cravings, leading to more irritability and anxiety. These feelings are only intensified in rigid diet programs like 75 hard.
In a “no days off” diet like 75 hard, once you don’t do all required steps for a day, you are forced to start over. The National Eating Disorder Collaboration says that, when diet rules are broken, people can feel guilty which can lead to lower self-esteem and therefore worsened body image issues. Shaik agreed with this, stating, “it’s really easy for you to get off track, and then once you gain one pound, you’re like, ‘it’s over’, and then you just mess up your whole routine and all your progress that you’ve made.”
Ultimately, diet culture fails teens by disguising self improvement with self punishment. Fixed diets like 75 hard that promote all-or-nothing rules prioritize rigid beauty standards over the health and bettering of its dieters. In order for teens to feel improved, they need to move away from rigid diets and focus more on balance, self care, and acceptance.