SALT LAKE CITY — March is Women's History Month, dedicated to celebrating women's achievements and vital role in American history. On March 8, we celebrated International Women’s Day, a day meant to highlight the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and girls around the world.

Yet, alongside all of the amazing accomplishments — from stay-at-home moms running small businesses to CEOs at the top of corporations — there is a heavy commonality that's impacted generations of influential women.

Culture of thinness

One thing many women have in common is a shared desire to live in a smaller body. Because we live in a culture that overvalues thinness, shrinking our bodies through dieting can be a common rite of passage for some. From Oprah endorsing Weight Watchers to Brené Brown hinting at her negative body image, powerful women across the world still feel the urge to seek weight loss in order to feel better about themselves.

In the book "Just Eat It," author Laura Thomas says, "Diets and workout programs are promoted as being able to create ‘body confidence’ and helping you to ‘love yourself.’ But self-esteem doesn’t work like that. It’s a psychological not a physical need. Worth that is based on what we look like is the most fragile foundation for self-esteem and it cannot last."

In November, "Today" show co-hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb stepped on a scale on national TV followed by a discussion about a diet they were going to try. In comments posted on the show's Instagram page, some people claimed the act was "brave" and "inspiring" while others found it to be harmful instead.

Numerous non-diet health professionals and women around the country voiced their disappointment and concern via social media. The following day, the show's hosts discussed their intentions on air. Bush Hager reflected on the experience stating, "I was reminded why I don't weigh myself, yesterday, because I was playing with my kids and I kept having that one number in my head. And I'm like, 'You know what? No, no, no, no.' I don't want life to be controlled by a scale."

Diet culture works to keep women from focusing on the more meaningful and important things in life. –Jennifer Rollin

Despite the subtle disruption from fully engaging with her kids observed by Bush Hager, the two ladies continued to defend their actions. They claimed this was about "getting healthy." But when you start to notice the seemingly innocent ways dieting distracts women, you begin to realize how much it steals from us. And in this case, Bush Hager wasn’t completely present with her kids — she was thinking about her weight.

Diet of distraction

Diet culture can have many negative consequences, according to registered dietitian Crystal Karges.

"Diet culture has created an arbitrary and artificial standard of beauty that often distracts women from understanding and knowing their inherent worth and value," Karges said. "Diet culture also promotes the lie that our bodies can't be trusted, which becomes internalized as the message that we can't trust ourselves. Without trust in oneself, it becomes easy to be distracted by what you think everybody else wants from you. This leads to striving for self-worth instead of trusting that you are enough."

Dieting is the action of restricting what, when or how much you eat. It can stem from your desire to be thinner or "healthier." Rather than tuning into your body’s needs and honoring hunger cues, external factors such as limiting calories, cutting food groups, or waiting until a certain time to eat can decrease your ability to trust your body.

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The problem with diet talk Diet talk is a thread in almost every fabric of conversation. Discussions infiltrate the workplace, fitness classes, lunch dates and the home. Changing the conversation is vital to gain confidence in how you take care of your body.

Dieting has many risks, but one of the most significant is that it can distract you from reaching your full potential. For example, if you are obsessing about what to eat, not eat, or pacifying hunger until you feel allowed to eat, you could be wasting mental energy and not getting enough physical energy to go and do.

In feminist writer Naomi Wolf's book "The Beauty Myth", she says, "Dieting is the most potent political sedative in women’s history; a quietly mad population is a tractable one."

Wolf explains further, "The times in history when women have made the greatest political gains — getting the vote, gaining reproductive freedom, securing the right to work outside the home — have also been moments when standards for ‘ideal’ beauty became significantly thinner and the pressure on women to adhere to those standards increased. Because if women are busy trying to shrink themselves, they won’t have the time or energy to shake things up."

Dieting is the most potent political sedative in women’s history; a quietly mad population is a tractable one. –Naomi Wolf, "The Beauty Myth"

Jennifer Rollin, a licensed clinical social worker, said diet culture can affect more than just women's physical health and size.

"Diet culture works to keep women from focusing on the more meaningful and important things in life. It serves to keep women playing 'small' in their lives through focusing on restricting food-which ultimately leads to restricting life experiences," Rollin said.

It may feel virtually impossible to escape the constant diet talk and societal pressures of thinness and beauty, but women are powerful. Collectively we can make a change. We can call out diet culture when we see it. We can change the conversation at the lunch table with our girlfriends. We can refrain from calling women "brave" when they step on a scale in front of millions. Let's, instead, save that tile for the women working to recover and fight this system of beliefs.

About the Author: Devrie Pettit Devrie is a registered dietitian nutritionist. She provides nutrition therapy through her private practice. Find her on Instagram Devrie is a registered dietitian nutritionist. She provides nutrition therapy through her private practice. Find her on Instagram @happilyfed and happilyfed.life

Editor’s Note: Anything in this article is for informational purposes only. The content is not intended, nor should it be interpreted, to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition; Any opinions, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of KSL. KSL does not endorse nor is it responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, information, or statement made in this article. KSL expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on the content of this article.

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