I am a mom to two girls who are 14 years apart. One thing they have in common is their love for all things fashion and pop culture. They love modern music and current trends and enjoy dressing up. Like most girls, they like to change their hair styles and often think about what it would be like with different eye colour, hair colour etc. I think this is very common as they say, the grass is always greener on the other side. This is all innocent enough and I find my girls fazed most of it out as they got older. But there is another side to loving fashion and current trends,a scary darker side. We all see it but for some reason have become accustom to it, almost numb. It no longer fazes us.
Dietainment.
It is actually wider spread than just in fashion , it is in ads, music videos, even cartoons. Reading celebrity magazines nothing is transparent and it is difficult to know what is real. People photo-shopping wrinkles, arms, abs and other body parts to make themselves look thinner, younger or prettier. I say people as I have seen both men and women do this. Our children are watching and thinking this is okay.
What is Dietainment?
Unhealthy diet messages disguised as harmless entertainment. Celebrity fad diets, weight-loss tricks and miracle foods that never work.
Sign the petition
By signing the petition here, you are supporting the need for change.
The Campaign is intended to reduce the exposure of unhealthy dieting messages disguised as harmless entertainment, or “Dietainment”, to Canadian girls. Participants are invited to sign a petition to help achieve this goal (“Petition”).
Once the Petition reaches 10,000 signatures, the Petition will be submitted by General Mills to Canadian media companies such as (but not limited to) Bell Media, Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications, Corus Entertainment, Quebecor Media, AOL Canada, Canadian Broadcasting Corp, TVA Group, etc., as a proof point to show the number of Canadians who are concerned about Dietainment.
Every time we turn around we are seeing this! Standing in line at the grocery store or flipping through the channels on TV. This is everywhere and increasing daily.
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” or “lose 30 pounds on this new liquid diet” to attract viewers
“lose 10 lbs fast”
“Get bikini ready in just 3 weeks”
We all see it and we are all influenced in some way. If we as adults are pressured, how do you think our children are being influenced?
It needs to stop! I am going to watch for the next few days, observing how often I personally see my 6 year old is exposed to Dietainment. I am eager to discuss this with her and the expectations she may have of herself after seeing it.
Did you know 1 in 3 girls have dieted? Those are scary statistics if you ask me!
Young girls are constantly exposed to unhealthy diet messages disguised as entertainment. Share and sign the petition at WorldWithoutDieting.ca, and together we can help stop Dietainment from reaching our girls. #StopDietainment
As a mom who has struggled with my weight I have always been very aware of how I talk about myself and my image in-front of my children. What you say sticks with them forever. We talk about being healthy and active not thin and ‘perfect’. We never ever talk about dieting or losing weight. We say things like ‘Making healthy choices’ when it comes to meals and menu planning. We also embrace our differences and celebrate what makes us unique. But with all of this going on beyond my control, I feel outnumbered.
What can you do?
Have a conversation about Dietainment with your kids. Do they notice the content? How does it make them feel? What do you want your kids to know about body image vs. what they see in the world?
Then sign the petition at www.worldwithoutdieting.com
Follow the conversation on twitter with the hashtag #StopDietainment and be sure to show @LifeMadeDelish Faze.ca (@fazemagazine) and Divine.ca (@divinedotca) support in this great initiative.
This post has been brought to you by Cheerios, all opinions are my own
This is so important. The media absolutely inundates us with images that serve to let us know we’re not okay if we don’t wear the right clothes and those clothes are size 0.
Well, now I know what to call all this horror I see. I’ve been calling it, “ridiculous BS” for years.
I can’t even imagine how hard it is to be a young girl these days. It’s so absurd that they can’t just feature “normal” sized women as models.
It’s amazing how much of it is around us everyday. Our kids need to know the difference and that the best thing to do is to lead a healthy lifestyle.
I hate all the ads out there now a days for girls. My niece is anorexic now and I now part of it is from these ads! I hope that in the future it will get better at this since kids are watching what we do.
I couldn’t agree more. This needed to stop years ago. It’s been too crazy, and the effects are critical.
This is so important to bring up with both friends and kids. It’s insane the culture that’s sold to us and our children
I totally agree. I often worry about my girls and what they see around them. This is a great petition to sign
I love this movement. And it seems like all the targeted messages from the media that emphasize unhealthy weight loss and measures to be “beautiful” are all targets at women adn young girls. Those that are impressionable and most at risk to falling prey to hurtful messages of the ads.
I do see this all over. It influences both people of all generations. I can imagine that it takes a toll on self-confidence.
I see a ton of inappropriate ads everyday. They are everywhere in magazines and even in the games we play. It is so important we teach our kids to have a positive body image.
It really is crazy what is allowed in advertisement these days. It can be so hard to combat what is in the media with our kids.
Totally agree. We need to stop letting the media make us all think that skinny is healthy and beautiful. Positive body image is important to teach both to our sons and daughters.
We need to promote healthy body image! Good self esteem can do so much for a girl’s life!
I hate the idea that everyone needs to be stick thin. Healthy and thin are not the same.
So far our girls (age 11) don’t seem to make a big deal of any of that. We aren’t big tv watchers and I don’t get any magazines subscriptions so their exposure is only movies and internet…thankfully they love to read books more than anything.
I have struggled with my weight all my life and I tend to talk badly about my body. That is not setting a good example for my kids.
It truly is a sad state of affairs that all these magazines, movies etc think that someone has to be at the most a size 0 to be pretty/beautiful when that isn’t the case at all. All the adverts for diet pills, cosmetic surgery etc are sickening but are a multi-million dollar industry. Our bodies aren’t perfect by any means but it’s what’s inside that counts not the wrapping!
This is very important. It’s scary how kids nowadays become too obsessed with dieting.