The Harms of Dieting
- Heather Bray
- Sep 8
- 4 min read
Dieting can often be viewed as a path to health and beauty because of long-standing societal beliefs, media messaging, and cultural norms that equate thinness with wellness and attractiveness. However, the downside to dieting isn’t talked about enough and it’s time to shed more light on the real harms it can cause.
Written by: Sasha Tran
Reviewed by: Heather Bray, RD
What is a Diet? Diet Culture?
A diet can be defined as a set of rules, often restrictive about the timing, quality, and quantity consumed.
Diet culture is the cultural phenomenon that promotes dieting and a “thin ideal” as the primary focus. It can lead to the idea that some foods are “good” and others are “bad”.
When talking about the harms of dieting in this blog, it’s not referring to eating plans designed by a registered dietitian to manage a medical condition. It’s also not talking about the intentional changes to your eating habits for your overall wellbeing, like adding more vegetables or cooking at home more often. In this post ‘dieting’ refers to following rigid, short-term rules to lose weight or control your body size, often at the expense of your physical and mental health.
Physical Harms of Dieting
Although diets promise ‘better health’, the repeated cycle of restriction can take a toll on your body. Here are some physical harms of dieting:
Metabolic Slowdown
When you significantly reduce your calorie intake your body could take it as starvation and slow down your basal metabolic rate (BMR) to conserve energy.
Weight Cycling
Although dieting is supposed to help with weight loss there is a chance that individuals could regain the weight. The repeated loss and gain of weight is known as weight cycling, which is linked to increased risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.
Nutrient Deficiencies
Restrictive diets can leave your body short of important vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients. Being deficient in certain nutrients can lead to symptoms like fatigue, hair loss, weakened immunity, and poor bone health.
Mental and Emotional Toll
Dieting doesn’t only affect your body physically but it can have effects on you mentally and emotionally. The pressure to follow strict food rules can turn eating from a source of nourishment to a source of stress.
Increased Anxiety Around Food
From constantly tracking calories, checking labels, and worrying about “good” and “bad” foods can create a sense of fear and guilt with everything you eat. It can also make social situations hard, struggling to enjoy eating with others.
Lowered Self-Esteem
Dieting can end up being tied to your self-worth therefore, if you “slip-up” it can lead to feelings of disappointment or shame. These negative feelings can harm your confidence and make you feel as though you’ll never be “good enough” unless you reach a certain weight.
Increased Risk of Eating Disorders
What might start as a simple attempt to lose a few pounds can escalate into dangerous eating patterns that harm both physical and mental health. Dieting can slowly chip away at your mental wellbeing, replacing your joy with worry and stress.
The Role of Weight Stigma
One of the biggest harms of dieting is weight stigma, the discrimination, negative stereotypes, and judgement people face on body size.
Weight stigma can look like this:
Receiving negative comments (from anyone including doctors)
Poor treatment in work settings
Complimenting someone on weight loss
Being charged higher insurance premium (US)
Stores not carrying a size of clothing that fits
A Better Way Forward
Health doesn’t have to mean dieting. Instead of chasing quick fixes or strict rules, a more sustainable and compassionate approach is to focus on habits that support your overall wellbeing.
Health is so much more than a number on a scale, try and shift your focus away from weight. Try focusing on energy, strength, and how you feel day to day. Rather than focusing on a number and following strict rules, explore intuitive or mindful eating. It’s a way of listening to your body’s natural hunger and fullness cues. By doing this can help rebuild trust with food and bring back the joy of eating. Try to eat foods that nourish your body such as fruits, vegetables, proteins, and whole grains without labeling foods as “good” and “bad”. Focus on balance and not restriction.
Final Thoughts
Dieting is often framed as this path to better health and happiness, but the reality tells a different story. Strict food rules can harm the body, strain mental health, and keep people in a cycle of frustration.
The truth is that health and self-worth aren’t found in a number on a scale or in the latest fad diet. If you’ve ever felt trapped by dieting, know that you’re not alone— and that there’s a kinder, more sustainable way forward. By stepping away from the dieting cycle, you give yourself the freedom to live well and build a positive relationship with food and your body.
Looking to take the next step toward a healthier, more balanced relationship with food?
Download my free Complete Guide to Hunger ad Fullness Cues for practical strategies you can start using today.
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