window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-GEQWY429QJ');

 

Wellness

The rise of body positivity sparked a new tone in fitness and health industries. We’ve replaced “losing weight” with “wellness” and “dieting” with “clean eating.” The wellness language attempts to balance both empowerment and staying in shape. We struggle between wanting to change our bodies and remaining positive about our appearance.

As women distanced themselves from the dieting industry, the wellness movement framed itself as more body-positive. But despite the new language, the industry is largely the same, continuing to focus on identical weight loss goals. This language may seem like it reflects healthier mindsets, but it’s also creating new problems.

Criticism of the Wellness Movement

Wellness queens emphasize loving your body, being happy and being healthy. As fitness fads and celebrities flood social media, so do the critics. Quartzy writer Rosie Spinks explains that the new fitness “narrative is that wellness is for everyone, that strong is the new skinny, that it’s not about a diet or weight but about being your happiest, truest self… but in reality, it’s simply diet culture 2.0.”

She goes on to point out the privilege behind this culture, noting that “the vast majority of influencers are thin white women.” People are picking up on this privilege, as many perceive healthy lifestyles as more expensive. While some argue that the reality of healthy living is cheaper than what we think, this mindset still paints the wellness industry as elitist and unreachable.

Orthorexia

There’s another problematic repercussion to the movement. People that struggle with eating disorders can use wellness as a way to disguise unhealthy habits. Ruby Tandoh explains, “My illness was hidden in plain sight, and what’s more—it became something to be proud of.”

The term linked to Tandoh’s illness is “orthorexia.” Tandoh considers orthorexia to be “an eating disorder, while others place it closer to OCD, but regardless of its diagnosis, its symptoms—anxiety around ‘bad foods,’ dietary inflexibility, a concern with physical health at a social and emotional expense—seem to be on the rise.”

Identifying Orthorexia

Wellness

The topic of orthorexia is tricky. One complication involves the term’s definition; orthorexia doesn’t necessarily describe an eating disorder. Recognizing orthorexia is also complicated, and diagnosing people incorrectly can harm more than help.

Psychology Today states that typical signs of eating disorders include secrets and isolation. It may be difficult to identify unhealthy eating habits because these behaviors tend to be secretive. And if a person does have orthorexia or another eating illness, accusing them could lead to further secretive behavior.

We also can’t determine a person’s mental health from their appearance alone. In a 2016 article with Self.com, Ellen Pompeo explains that her naturally thin body caused critics to associate her with eating disorders. These criticisms used the word “eating disorder” as though it was an insult—shameful and embarrassing— rather than an illness.

This was simultaneously hurtful to Pompeo, extremely damaging to those that do have eating disorders and “completely unreliable” in its portrayal. Furthermore, as the article notes: people of all sizes can have eating disorders.

Approaching Orthorexia

Consistent unusual behavior like overspending on food, hiding food and pretending to eat is the only way to really tell if a person has an eating disorder. If their behavior does match an eating disorder’s symptoms, Psychology Today advises expressing loving concern instead of angry accusations.

So we should be hesitant to diagnose individuals that participate in “clean eating” and “wellness” with mental health issues. A person’s participation in the wellness movement does not automatically associate them with orthorexia. Tandoh also makes sure to emphasize that the wellness industry does not cause eating disorders; rather, it provides cover for people already suffering from the illness.

But providing cover is still dangerous. Wellness language spreads the misconception that these eating obsessions are acceptable. It’s important to know that using “healthy” words don’t necessarily reflect “healthy” habits.

Is Saying “Toning” Better Than Saying “Losing Weight?”

Welness

Does this new wellness language have any benefits? After all, words influence mentality. At least the industry is aware that the fitness conversation needs to change, right? If women use the words “happiness” and “wellness” to describe their goals, maybe this emphasis could redirect their motivations towards emotionally healthier hopes.

We’ve all had this conservation with our friends. They say they want to lose weight, and we tell them that they don’t need to. Once they change their reasoning, stating that they only want to “tone up” or “feel strong,” we retract our criticisms. We know their true feelings, but we still insist that they hide their intentions behind the correct words. 

There may be a few people out there who truly want to use fitness as a way to get healthy without focusing on their body. To these people, this language can be useful. It could help them stay focused on their own health without emphasizing their appearance.

But for others, wellness speech isn’t necessarily beneficial.  Some women suggest that these words cause dishonesty and anxiety around the idea of getting into shape. The new language can’t change a person’s focus; it only lets them hide their goals. And for someone with an eating disorder or obsession, this is much more harmful than helpful.

Why Did We Need This New Language?

It makes sense why we don’t want to voice our weight loss intentions. We know that society puts an emphasis on skinny, but it doesn’t put an emphasis on fat. If it did, the number of people saying “I want to lose weight” would equal the number of people saying  “I want to gain weight.” Therefore, wanting a thin body is a societal pressure.  Admitting that you’d like to lose weight is admitting that you’re giving in to society’s body standards.

And let’s say your friend is larger than you. It’s hard to tell your friend that you want to lose weight without making them feel like they should lose weight, too.

But we need to be honest about our intentions. We don’t want to contribute to societal pressures, but hiding our weight loss goals under a new language doesn’t fix the problem. Even though it’s horrible that society makes healthy individuals strive to lose weight in the first place, we shouldn’t feel ashamed if we are one of these individuals. If someone wants to lose weight in a responsible way, they should be allowed to. Staying honest with ourselves is the only way to honestly evaluate our fitness goals and determine if they’re conflicting with our physical, mental or emotional health.

Is Wellness a Gender Issue?

Welness

The problems of the wellness industry do not only apply to women. However, a woman may face more judgment than a man for choosing to lose weight.  A 2014 article by Alice Robb suggested that at the time, it was more socially acceptable for men to diet than women. Robb noticed that while her male friends boasted about working out, her female friends stayed quiet. “Talking about nutrition—or appearing weight-conscious at all—[had] become taboo for women, while men [felt] more and more liberated to embrace and advertise food-related anxieties.”

So maybe body-positive intentions weren’t the only cause of the weight loss taboo. Maybe there was also a gendered pressure to act carefree in terms of food. There’s a certain feeling cultivated from a thin woman eating junk food. We consider eating fries relatable and fun, while eating salad is boring and self-absorbed. Society associates dieting with female shallowness, and women don’t want to seem shallow.

In 2015, James Chambers of Weight Watchers said: “We’re having one of the worst Januaries that anyone could have imagined.” After this time, Weight Watchers and other dieting companies noticeably shifted towards more accepting speech. It’s possible that the new wellness language relieved the fitness taboo for women.

Finding Well-being in the Wellness Industry

Many people have noticed the controversy and dilemmas associated with the wellness industry, but they don’t seem to offer many solutions. On the one hand, we shouldn’t eschew fitness altogether. Despite the toxicity in various areas of the industry, there are many benefits to this lifestyle. Research shows that there’s a “positive influence of exercise on mood and cognition”. Furthermore, people should be able to work out if they’d like to, and if wellness language empowers them, then they should use it.

But the issue of dishonesty still remains. Some fitness participants hide their true goals when they shouldn’t have to, and this prevents them from truthfully evaluating their mental health. While this speech may empower body positivity, it can also inadvertently empower eating disorders. 

How do we change this?

1 Be honest about your goals

Be honest with yourself and make a plan. Determine if you want an endgame or a total lifestyle change. Determine if you want wellness, weight loss or both. And determine why you want this. Once you’re truthful in your goals, you can better analyze how you’d like fitness to play into your life.

For example, let’s say you have an endgame goal of losing ten pounds, and you want to lose weight to feel better about your body. Throughout your fitness journey, you should keep those goals in mind. And if you’ve accomplished your goal and lost ten pounds, evaluate yourself again. Do you feel better about yourself? If not, maybe weight loss isn’t the answer.

You’re allowed to change your goals mid-journey. But when you do, try to analyze why you’ve changed them. If you lost ten pounds and want to lose ten more, why? Do you feel good about your weight loss and want to feel better? If so, when do you think your weight loss should end? Make sure you set a minimum weight limit and promise yourself you will not let your weight go lower than that minimum.

And if you do want to focus on wellness without worrying about your image, try to avoid scales and mirrors! Find the positives in your appearance and emphasize how you feel over how you look.

As long as you’re honest with yourself and others, you can benefit from fitness in a healthy, responsible way.

2 Educate yourself and others

Wellness

Be aware of eating disorders and their effect. Understand how to recognize symptoms, end stigma and contribute towards eating illness prevention.

As stated before, symptoms of eating disorders include secretive eating habits, like pretending to eat. If you notice these behaviors in your friends or family, you can have a calm, loving conversation regarding their habits. Don’t shame them, and don’t accuse them.

And if someone shares their personal struggles with unhealthy eating conditions, let them know how brave they are and that you admire their vulnerability.

You can help end eating disorder stigma on a personal level. Stop calling others anorexic or bulimic. Stop saying “binge-eating.” And unless you’re genuinely worried about them and want to address the problem to their face, don’t use someone’s eating disorder (or the possibility that someone has an eating disorder) as casual conversation. Treat it as an illness, not entertainment.

We as a society can also help end the stigma by having more healthy conversations about the topic. As counterintuitive as it may sound, we should stop making movies and shows about eating disorders. Film and television tend to glamorize these illnesses and portray them incorrectly. Refusing to credit these portrayals and creating a responsible, educational discussion could reduce the shame associated with the topic.

As for prevention, the National Eating Disorders Association suggests implementing prevention programs in our education and emphasizing prevention research. 

3 Change the face and bodies of the wellness movement.

PHOTO VIA INSTAGRAM/ @effyourbeautystandards

PHOTO VIA INSTAGRAM / @effyourbeautystandards

Not all skinny bodies are healthy, and not all healthy bodies are skinny! Wellness industries need to make the conscious decision to feature bodies of all shapes, sizes and colors as their leaders. To truly focus on health, the movement should emphasize all types of people as their fitness inspirations.

Adding representation to the wellness movement would truly make changes towards the dishonesty of the industry. It will show its alliance to emotional and physical health through actions instead of words. And it can inspire people of all different bodies to participate in the wellness movement if they’d like to.

4 Change your media outlets.

Wellness

PHOTO VIA INSTAGRAM / @biggalyoga

Avoid buying grocery store magazines at all costs. They only display thin women and muscular men. While these celebrities and models are beautiful, they’re not the only type of beautiful out there. Constantly featuring these types of people in media only reinforces the idea that skinny and lean are the “ideal” body types.

Instead, follow Instagram accounts like @effyourbeautystandards and plus-size fashion lines like @fashionnovacurve and @plusbklyn. Adjusting societal perspective is a conscious effort. You can’t expect to immediately change your mindset, but surrounding yourself with these outlets can slowly influence your mentality. Plus, it shows support toward movements that depict all sizes in a beautiful light and encourages them to keep doing the work they’re doing.

Obviously, there’s an intense complexity to the wellness movement. We haven’t yet found straight-forward solutions for all these dilemmas. The only real way to solve these issues is to change society’s approach to weight, and society still has a long way to go on that.

But if everyone stays honest with themselves, criticizes the wellness industry’s problems and contributes to spreading awareness on these issues, we’ll all be one step closer toward finding solutions and true wellness. 

Edited by Chloe Lew
Send this to a friend