Paws
There are many diets in American culture, but the word diet does not always imply it is one by choice. Sometimes people must adhere to certain food regimes due to health and safety.
For instance, many diseases limit food intake due to immense pain or other symptoms, such as vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue. Crohn’s disease, for example, affects the digestive lining, making it impossible to eat some foods.
People with Hashimoto’s disease need to eat foods full of iodine to help ease their pain or improve their state. Strict diets can help those who need them and allow people to enjoy foods without the risk of hurting later on.
Also, people may diet for the sake of helping the planet, like pescatarians, who don’t eat meat but still eat fish. The meat industry is cited for destroying freshwater supplies, causing soil erosion, and destroying forest and grassland habitats.
The meat industry contributes to 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions globally. The fishing industry, however, is less harmful to the environment, and many have become pescatarian to boycott the meat industry. Another reason people can become pescatarians is they may have an allergy to meat called Alpha-Gal syndrome.
Dieting is a way for people to get the necessary nutrients to eat without getting an allergic reaction to meat. Also, people may be vegetarians not just to avoid eating meat but for religious reasons. These people don’t want to eat the spirit of the animal.
Overall, diets can help people find foods they can enjoy without the health concerns of eating.
Claws
Today’s societal standards of what a person’s body should look like have caused many people to develop eating disorders. The historical societal standard of beauty in America has most commonly aligned with the traits of light skin, blue eyes, blonde, thin, and young. This beauty standard that society has set up over the years is nearly impossible for many people, and those who cannot meet this standard are sometimes made to believe they are inferior.
All traits from this societal beauty standard can cause a person to have body image issues, the main one being “thin.” Many people, especially adolescents, suffer because of society’s image of the “ideal look,” and it’s unrealistic for some to achieve a slim figure due to health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, Cushing syndrome, and high blood pressure.
Even though a person may have a health condition that makes it difficult to obtain a slim figure, they can diet to lose weight or eat healthier, but it can quickly become unhealthy, and eventually develop into an eating disorder. Dieting is dangerous due to its history of equating health with thinness. Diet culture promotes adopting rigid eating patterns and an unhealthy relationship with food.
Calorie intake differs for everyone depending on age, size, and activity level, but nobody should eat less than 1200 calories a day. Calorie deficits aren’t healthy, and neither is forcing yourself to purge all the food you ate for dinner. Eating disorders are dangerous for today’s youth and diet culture isn’t helping.
