How Diet Culture Hides in Everyday Language (and How to Spot It)

We often picture diet culture in its most extreme and obvious forms - crash diets, juice cleanses, radical “before-and-after” transformations. But in reality, diet culture rarely announces itself so loudly. Instead, it often hides in our everyday language, echoed by friends, family, co-workers, social media… and even ourselves. 

Sometimes cloaked in the language of “wellness”, diet culture is a system of beliefs that equate thinness, weight loss, and certain body shapes with health, morality, and worth. Diet culture thrives on one simple premise: your body is a problem to be fixed - and it sidelines the reality that health can exist at any shape or size. By creating a dynamic where we feel as if our body needs to constantly change, diet culture is a hugely profitable market, with the global weight loss and diet industry valued at $192.2 billion in 2019 (Allied Market Research), thriving on the insecurity it cultivates. Over time, these seemingly harmless comments and ideals can reinforce maladaptive beliefs about food, bodies, and self-image, potentially contributing to a cycle of shame, disordered eating, and, for some, serious mental health challenges. In this post, we’ll explore how diet culture may be sneaking into everyday conversations - and how to spot it before it embeds itself in your mindset. 

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1. “I was so bad this weekend… I need to work it off”:

Diet culture typically uses very black and white language, which frames eating as a moral issue - with “good” and “bad” foods, and by extension, “good” and “bad” bodies. This reinforces guilt around food and the idea that exercise is a punishment - a way to “atone” for eating - rather than a way to care for your body. This false dichotomy can apply to certain foods (such as chocolate), or an entire food group (such as carbs). 

Clock it: Notice when conversations start linking self-worth to eating or exercising habits. 

Try instead: “I enjoyed some different foods this weekend,” or “I’m going for a walk with a friend so we can feel energised”. 

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2. “Clean eating”:

Diet culture ideals often masquerade under buzzwords like “clean eating,” “detox,” or “cleanse”. While these may sound healthy, “clean eating” promotes the notion that some foods are “dirty” or “impure”, focusing less on overall well-being, and more on pursuing an “ideal” body type. This may lead to anxiety, guilt, and shame around eating perfectly normal, nourishing foods that don’t necessarily fit the “clean” label. When there are rules about what “can” or “can’t”, or “should” or “shouldn’t” be eaten, that’s usually diet culture talking. 

Clock it: Notice and be aware of language that moralises food choices. Ask yourself: Is the focus truly on health and well-being, or is it on weight, shape or appearance?

Try instead: Practice mindful eating - choosing foods for variety, balance, satisfaction, and enjoyment - without assigning moral value.

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3. “Beach body ready”:

This phrase, and similar phrases, suggest that only certain bodies deserved to be seen and celebrated. It sends a clear and problematic message: your body must change before you can enjoy life. This appearance-based message may lead to higher rates of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviours.  

Clock it: Listen for subtle body-shaming or appearance-based “requirements” tied to activities.

Try instead: Enjoy the beach regardless! Reassure yourself and others that every body is a “beach body” if it’s at the beach. 

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4. “I don’t eat carbs,” (or any other entire food group):

Cutting out food groups in their entirety is often presented as a “healthy lifestyle choice”, but can actually be a hallmark of restrictive dieting and can normalise disordered eating patterns. Unless medically necessary (e.g., Coeliac disease), cutting out entire food groups can increase the risk of nutritional deficiencies, and damage one’s relationship with food. 

Clock it: Notice when food rules are presented as moral or absolute.

Try instead: Recognise that all food groups play an essential role in balanced nutrition, and that nutritional needs are highly individual. 

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Why It Matters

Language shapes beliefs, and beliefs shape behaviour. These phrases may sound small, but for someone struggling with body image or disordered eating, they can trigger guilt, shame, or restrictive behaviours. Over time, internalising diet culture’s ideals can increase the risk of eating disorders - and with eating disorders carrying the second-highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses, the consequences can be serious. 

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How to Recognise, Respond, and Resist Diet Culture

Spotting diet culture is the first step. You don’t have to engage in an argument when it pops up - gentle reframing or a subject change can be just as effective. Over time, you can practice modelling more neutral, compassionate language about food or bodies - or talk about other things altogether. 

Resisting diet culture isn’t about ignoring health - it’s about rejecting the false belief that health only comes in one size. Once you can recognise these diet culture messages and ideals for what they are - profit-driven, not truth-driven - you can practice tuning them out entirely. 

Changing how we talk about food and bodies isn’t merely about being “politically correct” - it is crucial in fostering a safer, more inclusive and accepting environment for everyone. In a society fixed on physical perfection, embracing the joy of food, the pleasure of movement, and the acceptance of all bodies might be the most radical resistance of all. 

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If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder or thoughts of suicide, support is available.

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