Holiday body shaming and food talk

 

Why do people comment about bodies and food around the dinner table?

You may be surprised to hear that people bring up body and food talk for reasons that usually have nothing to do with you and everything to do with culture, habits, and their own insecurities.

🍽️ Many people grew up in a family where talking about weight, diet, or appearance was considered normal conversation.

🍽️ Diet culture is deeply ingrained. Society has treated body size as a moral issue and food as “good” or “bad.”

🍽️ Holidays heighten food anxiety. When someone feels guilty or worried about eating, they often comment on what someone else is eating to cope or deflect.

🍽️ Unsolicited comments about health or weight are often framed as “concern.”

🍽️ For some, commenting on others’ plates or bodies is a way to feel superior or justify their own choices.

➡️ Negative comments about bodies or food are usually a reflection of the person saying them—not the person hearing them. 

Understanding that can make their words feel less personal so you respond with confidence and boundaries.

Body Shaming and Fat Talk

 

"Too big." "Too small."

Your body is not an object.

Let's stop shaming the body of an athlete. Including your own body. 

It's crazy to think that so many athletes believe that they must attempt to train the body to succeed in sport while simultaneously maintaining a specific body type idealized by social media.

Whether you criticize your own appearance through comparison or judgement, criticize another's appearance in front of them or criticize another's appearance without their knowledge, this is a form of abuse.

The first step in overcoming body shaming is to appreciate your body just as it is.

We can all do better to love ourselves and our bodies just as we are.

When you have a healthy relationship with your body, you are more likely to respect and value the bodies of others.