An Analogy to Explain Why Diet Culture is Unhealthy!
Toddlers are not the only ones tricked into choosing instant gratification over outcomes consistent with long-term values. Parents every day are tricked into maladaptive parenting because of this same choice, and I would argue most people in our society are duped into dieting for the same reason. In responding to a client about how difficult it is to choose an approach (mindful/intuitive eating) that does not yield quick weight loss results, I finally thought of an analogy I hope struggling dieters can find helpful. As a mother of three, of course I’m choosing the example of parenting to examine more closely the relationship with food/exercise. First, you have the permissive parent (e.g. giving the kid a toy for the short-term gratification of not being embarrassed in the store), Second, there’s the authoritarian parent (high demands and low responsivenes; harsh parenting). Finally, and I would argue most effective, there is the authoritative , attuned parent (warme...