How Fad Diet Culture Can Be Damaging to Seniors

It’s essential to pay close attention to your health when you get older. Prioritizing self-care, getting regular exercise, and eating nutritious foods are all important to maintaining your physical and mental health and feel good well as a senior.

But, an obsession with the diet culture we are bombarded with can have the opposite effect on anyone’s well-being no matter what their age.

This way of thinking can lead seniors to buy products to solve health issues that aren’t that healthy at all or trigger them to eat or exercise in an extreme way.

There are steps you can take to avoid getting sucked into diet culture and health fads targeted to seniors.

The problem with diet culture

The compulsion to follow diet culture fads can lead to:

• Poor sleep quality;
• Decreased muscle mass;
• Increased risk of heart conditions.

It can also damage your mental health, and contribute to extra stress that may lead to anxiety and depression. This can turn into body dysmorphia or disordered eating. If you look at yourself in a negative light because the diet culture has told you that you should appear a certain way, you’re more likely to fall into these dangerous traps and give in to unhealthy practices.

Some people think that having an eating disorder means severely restricting food, but that isn’t always the case. It is an unhealthy or abnormal mindset that affects how you eat. A person with an eating disorder will:

• Only eat “healthy” or “good-for-you” foods;
• Experience a lack of enjoyment while eating;
• Worry about food;
• Feel like they have to “earn” food through exercise or eating restrictions.

Dealing with an eating disorder can feel like a constant battle. Once negative thoughts about it get into your head, it’s hard to push them out.  A senior who does not get enough nutrition or who exercises too much will begin to feel weak and fatigued. This can make any existing health issue get worse. Be sure to pay attention to signs of an eating disorder in your life, that include a dramatic weight fluctuation or changes to your mental health.

How to reject the diet culture mindset

Forget about fad diets and fitness trends that never work and get back to basics.

Focus on scientific nutrition advice that applies to seniors. Your dietary needs and goals may change as you get older. You might find that your appetite isn’t what it once was, and you might end up eating less if you’re not as physically active as you used to be. It’s more important to focus on getting the proper nutrition each day. Base your nutritional needs on your lifestyle and any underlying conditions you might have.

If you don’t spend a lot of time outside, eat foods high in Vitamin D or consider taking a supplement. If you have digestive issues, your body might have a hard time absorbing Vitamin B, so consider eating more foods that contain it or supplementing it with a multivitamin. Seniors need extra calcium to prevent bone loss and foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids to improve their mood or memory.

If you’re struggling to maintain a healthy diet, work with a nutritionist or talk to your doctor about setting up a nutrition plan for you. Food should be something you enjoy that fuels your body, especially as you age. It’s not something to fear, and you don’t have to obsess over every macronutrient, ingredient, or calorie. Eating a well-rounded diet that fulfills your individual needs is the best place to start.

Find balance in healthy living

Stop focusing solely on your diet or fads that come and go and shift your mind toward healthy living habits. You will feel more balanced, happier, and less stressed.

Healthy living for seniors includes eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and antioxidants.

Prioritize physical activities you enjoy, whether it’s walking around the neighborhood with a friend or joining a local yoga class. Get enough sleep to improve memory and concentration, and to help your body repair itself. Reduce your stress levels as much as you can, and see your doctor regularly for check-ups.

When you make these well-rounded ways of staying healthy a habit, you’re less likely to be attracted to fad diet culture and more likely to find happiness as you age.