How Has AI Weaponized Diet Culture?
In July this year, I decided to lose a bit of weight to improve my overall health. I’d just been diagnosed with PCOS and a life-threatening gallbladder disease, so it felt like the right decision at the time.
Prioritising my health over aesthetics while embarking on a ‘weight loss journey’ wasn’t something I’d done before – it made me feel empowered, as if I was actually taking control of my health and doing it sensibly, rather than crash-dieting or comparing myself to other people.
Sadly, though, I found it impossible not to fall victim to 2020s diet culture – a slightly more insidious and digitally-dominated form of the weight-loss ‘trends’ we endured in the 2000s. I constantly compared myself to slimmer friends; wondering if I’d have a bit more confidence if I just lost another 10lbs. I’d stay up until 2am sometimes, endlessly scrolling through TikTok and despairing at my upper arms, thighs and the way my tummy has a slight overhang.
Excerpted from Huff Post
