Alex Light, a writer and advocate, has opened up about her three-decade battle with diet culture and its devastating impact on her mental and physical health. She recalls the moment she stopped dieting as a turning point, describing the sheer joy of eating breakfast after years of skipping it to 'save' calories. 'The benefits were immediate: I had energy, I was far less grumpy and I felt much, much happier,' she says.
Light's experience is not uncommon. According to the National Eating Disorder Association, moderate dieters are five times more likely to develop an eating disorder, while extreme dieters are 18 times more likely. Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder, highlighting the fatal potential of diet culture. Light notes that while dieting alone does not cause eating disorders, it can trigger them in those predisposed due to biological, psychological, and environmental factors.
Reflecting on her own journey, Light identifies personality traits such as perfectionism and all-or-nothing thinking as contributing factors. She grew up in a culture that celebrated thinness, which she internalised from a young age, leading to multiple eating disorders. She emphasises that diet culture has a ripple effect, influencing not only individuals but also those around them, and calls for its elimination to protect younger generations.
Light advocates for teaching children about diet culture and fostering a neutral relationship with food. She warns against labelling foods as 'good' or 'bad', a common practice that assigns moral value to eating. 'It’s imperative we eliminate it not only from our lives, but from the lives of the younger generations,' she urges, vowing to avoid negative body talk and to equip future generations with tools to resist diet culture.
