Abstract: “Diets Don’t Work”: Intuitive Eating Voices on Social Media as Promoters of Comprehensive Well-being

◆ Elizabeth B. Jones, Asbury University

Health professionals have typically counseled overweight and obese individuals to reduce their weight by restricting calorie consumption. However, a growing body of research literature suggests that such diets are ineffective at promoting long-term weight management. Negative physical outcomes associated with the cycle of weight loss and weight regain that accompanies dieting include slowed metabolism and increased risk of heart disease. Negative psychological outcomes are also prevalent. Because U.S. culture tends to attribute blame for obesity to personal shortcomings of the larger-bodied person, those who are unable to maintain weight loss through dieting may face threats to self-esteem or view themselves as undisciplined or weak. Intuitive eating (see Tribole & Resch, 2020) is an alternate framework to traditional dieting that rejects eating restriction and weight-focus and instead emphasizes mindful and enjoyable food experiences. From this perspective, nutrition is a tool to help persons of all body sizes feel well physically and psychologically rather than as a means for body size reduction. In recent years, health professionals (e.g., registered dieticians) who are proponents of intuitive-eating principles have taken to social media to disseminate their messages to a broad audience. Thus, these voices are attempting to disrupt long-standing narratives of diet culture in North American society. The current research study therefore involved a qualitative content analysis of registered dieticians’ social media posts on three popular platforms: YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. A purposeful sample of registered dietician content creators was selected for each platform. Building on prior research that has examined contemporary narrative of obesity as constructed by the media (e.g., Shugart, 2011), this thematic analysis investigated the nature and scope of the intuitive eating messages being disseminated. Further, the technological factors shaping the sharing of messages (e.g., content norms for each social media platform) were considered. Preliminary findings suggest that these content creators emphasize the benefits to comprehensive well-being (physical, emotional, psychological) associated with abandoning diet culture. This study aligns well with this year’s KCHC theme of “Communication Strategies to Promote Comprehensive Well-being” for several reasons. First, the messages communicated by the registered dieticians emphasized multiple dimensions of health; for example, by noting that extremely restrictive eating may be both physically and psychologically damaging. Second, the social media platforms selected to communicate these messages offered insight into channels for health promotion that may democratize health information access. Third, the study as a whole offers a critical perspective on a biomedical model of weight loss and instead provides alternate ways to think about the holistic health and dignity of persons of all body sizes. Last, the study provides practical insight for health professionals and communicators who desire to engage with weight management and eating-related topics in a manner that is helpful and humane.