Hey everyone, thanks for taking the time to read or skim this blog post. Today, I’m going to discuss how diet culture manifests itself in America’s education system. I recently listened to a podcast episode about this, which I found incredibly interesting. I’ll link that below for you all. As this content sparked my interest, I wanted to read more about it and share some of my thoughts and insights with you all.
Although I’m not a teacher and not in school anymore, I think some of my past experiences can relate to the content I want to share today. With that being said, let’s begin.
How does diet culture appear in school settings?
For the most part, we can all acknowledge how diet culture, fatphobia, and body shaming are relevant and ever present in schools from as young as preschool up through college. This can be present in the lunchroom, the curriculum, as well as in the culture amongst young kids.
Diet Culture in the Cafeteria:
An example of how diet culture can be present in the cafeteria is when younger children are sometimes told what order to eat their food in thus ingraining thoughts that there are “good foods” and “bad foods”. Food should always be kept neutral rather than perpetuating the idea deserts must be earned by eating healthy foods first. An “all foods fit” approach that takes into account social, cultural, and nutritional uses for food will be of greater benefit to students. Unfortunately, some schools have strategies that take it a step further than this such as lunch box policies that dictate what students are allowed to bring or posters that may cause feelings of shame with “anti-obesity” messages. While there may not be ill intent with these strategies, hanging a poster in the cafeteria has made exactly zero kids throughout the history of the world skinny all of a sudden. And policing students’ lunch boxes only creates shame and dogmatic thinking around food which could cause them to overeat “unhealthy” foods in privacy at home. It also can introduce the idea to children at a young age that their bodies are problems to be solved. That is not good.
Curriculum:
Diet culture can also appear in the classroom curriculum. For example, some high schools have students complete food logs or count calories as a part of their physical education program.
BMI Testing:
Something I remember from grade school was having one day a year where people came in to weigh us and calculate BMIs. This was always such a huge source of anxiety for me as a student, especially because I was already made fun of frequently for my weight. I honestly believe having young children all weighed like it’s a fucking cattle show or something is a load of shit. It’s not productive and sends negative messages suggesting some children need to be fixed. And coming from me, those weigh-ins at school gave me no desire to lose weight or practice healthier habits. It just made me want to cry as soon as I got home. Very unproductive and counterintuitive. Further, these interventions have no long-term impact on BMI. So basically it’s a waste of everyone’s time and resources.
Another nail in the coffin is that BMI is the most outdated and irrelevant indicator of health. The statistician who invented the BMI in the 19th century did not intend this measurement to be used for medical use, rather he used it as a simple measurement that was transferable to the research setting. The research setting that made use of BMI was done on cohorts of white men aged 18-59, excluding all women and men of other backgrounds and ethnicities. BMI is also a shit indicator of health because it does not take muscle mass, fat distribution, or metabolism into consideration. Unfortunately, however, it is a requirement in more than twenty states to track students’ weight, with more than 10 states having to send home “BMI Report Cards”.
What’s more, is that it teaches children who are thin or are at a “more ideal weight” that their body being a certain size is one of the most important things about them. Thin is not equivalent to morality and goodness, and therefore, this idea should not be ingrained into students. This is a damaging mindset to have. Children should be taught to treasure values such as kindness, empathy, intelligence, hard work, respect, integrity, and strength much more than their weight. And because school obesity prevention programs are typically not evidence-based and cause harm to children, they should probably take another approach. One that focuses on healthy habits rather than weight and BMI. It must be known that health does not have a look. Some very active and healthy children may have bigger bodies just as thinner children might struggle with illness or nutrient deficiencies.
Calorie Tracking Assignments:
I mentioned earlier that in middle school and high school, certain calorie counting and food tracking work is assigned as a part of physical education. Thankfully this was never something any school I attended took part in, yet it still happens in many states. “Food diary” assignments used to be very common. While I do understand macro or calorie tracking can be of benefit in a few scenarios, it should never be a part of an assigned project for a group of people that are statistically at the highest risk for the onset of eating disorders. This is a habit that should never be forced, let alone at this age. Calorie tracking really shouldn’t be attempted until adulthood and only for a few weeks at most for those who have trouble gauging their eating habits.
Because the nutrition curriculums are set by the CDC and must align with the National Health Education Standards, we can see that this is sometimes an issue that goes deeper. It may not be feasible for teachers to agree to disregard a particular assignment that could be damaging to students. The CDC created a resource known as the Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT). This tool sets objectives for each grade. For example, it declares that eighth-grade students should be able to “explain various methods available to evaluate body weight.” Yikes. Eighth grade is a very young age for children to start weighing themselves and take calculated steps to either maintain or lose weight. It adds to the damaging storyline that bodies are an ornament and looking a certain way gives you more value as a human being. Shouldn’t these kids be learning math and shit? Maybe some real-world skills, like how to write a check or something. Really anything but how to weigh themselves or count calories.
Assignments like these also do a lot of harm subconsciously. Students are learning to judge themselves, their bodies, and food choices as they grow up whether they’re aware of it or not. What’s more, is that from an early age, they can learn to start dieting and take that damaging habit into adulthood where it becomes a full-fledged internal war with food.
Movies and Literature:
Diet culture also shows up in the curriculum with the way characters are portrayed in movies and literature. From an early age, the larger characters are either the mean and grumpy antagonist or the comedic relief sidekick to the thinner and prettier main character. What message does this teach children? And how easy are these stereotypes to unlearn? More size-inclusive literature and media should be used in the classroom as a way to promote positive body image and to stop dehumanizing those who are of a higher weight.
Bullying:
School should be a safe place. A place that fosters growth, and learning, and helps students achieve academic and personal success. School is for building and growing relationships, and discovering your interests and strengths. It should not be a place that induces anxiety or teaches kids to think negatively about their bodies or food choices. Sadly, this isn’t a perfect world and even if these ideas weren’t prevalent in school policies or curriculum, there is still the issue of weight-based bullying. A majority of bullying is weight and appearance-based. Children with larger bodies are 63% more likely to be the target of bullying. And kids can be fucking cruel.
As a student, you never want to feel targeted or judged for any reason. The results of weight-based bullying can cause children to feel ashamed and form unhealthy habits as a means to change themselves. Or it can cause students to lash out or become a bully themselves. Teachers should serve as role models when it comes to accepting all students and all bodies. A lot of policies and curricula contradict this approach, however. Changing curriculum and policy to a more inclusive approach can be a challenge because some of it is beyond the control of the teacher. The federal, state, and local governments influence school policy and curriculum, and therefore change must be implemented there as well as directly in the school setting. Everyone must do their part— from students to parents to educators to politicians, everyone should be aware of the issue and the impacts and be intentional about making change.
Closing- Opportunity for Change:
After all, health and wellness is multidimensional and encompasses so much more than weight. Rather than weight being such a focal point, health, well-being, and inclusivity must become the priority. Moving forward, we all must be more aware of how this shows up in the school environment so it can be called out or challenged. It’s important to reduce the harmful effects it can have on students before it gains too much traction. Similarly, there should be specific policies that address weight and appearance-based bullying. This way students and educators know this behavior is unacceptable and can work to challenge the stigma and bias that is ever so prevalent across the education system. Further, at higher grade levels, topics such as body image, body inclusivity, and existing stigmas and stereotypes should be explored. Awareness is the key to dismantling negative beliefs and perceptions students may have about themselves or others. Another way to support body inclusivity in the education system is to ensure all classrooms have accessible equipment for those of all sizes and abilities. If you’re an educator or work in the education sector pay attention to the curriculum. Do your part to revise the curriculum that may cultivate feelings of body shame.
Our worth is not tied to our bodies and no industry, especially the education industry should support these ideas. When we do our part to point out damaging policies and curricula, we can help shift the narrative. Shifting the narrative can allow students to focus on their education and well-being at school while simultaneously creating a healthier and more equitable learning environment.
Once again, thanks for reading. Looking forward to our next session. Linked below is the podcast episode I mentioned at the beginning of my post. <3
https://open.spotify.com/episode/20e3BJgQ9PQp5E57eC7444?si=KxGypNGrRA6U0Yu_99T6WQ