Recently, I posted a photo of my beautiful niece on Instagram with the following caption:
The thing is, my niece looks so much like me, sometimes I pretend she’s all mine. “I have a girl! I have a princess.” But then I remember that one day, this beautiful little girl will turn into a beautiful woman and that’s a bit too scary. So I kiss her and hug her and spoil her and hand her back to my brother damn quick.
As she grows, I want to protect her from the pressure to live up to society’s version of perfection when it comes to body image. And one of our best defenses against Dietainment is knowing it when we see it. Unhealthy diet messages disguised as entertainment are easy to miss, because they often hide in plain sight. Examples of Dietainment include messages or advertisements that do the following:
– Promise unrealistically fast weight loss that sounds too good to be true
– Lack valid scientific research to support claims
– Use over-the-top, implausible headlines like “slim down your belly fat in just a week”
Bella is still young, but if you have a daughter, granddaughter or niece who is at an influential age, you can help break the cycle by being a positive role model for the young women in your life! …