Millennials Ditch the Diet Mentality

The diet mentality has such a strong presence in our culture. Especially if you participate in social networking. Social media is an ideal medium for people to share their opinions and recommendations on what they believe is best for health and weight loss. Over the last two decades we have seen a surge in the number of diets emerge and their message is difficult to ignore.

What is a diet mentality? A diet mentality is following a set of “rules” promising fast and easy weight loss. These diets are anything but quick and easy. They oftentimes leads to hunger, stress, lack of sleep, anxiety and moodiness. Dieting is often frustrating and can make you feel like a failure. It can even cause more weight gain than where you began. That’s a lose-lose situation in my book.

Social media exacerbates the diet mentally by capitalizing on trends. You would think that millennials, who are more often immersed in social media, would be more inclined to have this diet mentality. Surprisingly, data shows that millennials might actually be more likely to ditch this concept than other age group.

According to the International Food Information Council (IFIC)’s 2015 Food and Health Survey millennials, or people born somewhere between the mid 1980’s and early 2000’s, seem to care less about calories than other populations.  In fact, they are less likely to count or limit calories and restrict fats than other age group.

Instead, millennials are seeking a healthier overall lifestyle. They agree that moderate sugar intake is an important part of health and they readily recognize the differences between natural sugars compared to other types of sweeteners. Millennials are also more cautious about the potential adverse long-term effects of high protein sources. They believe that there are more unhealthful substances in these types of foods than the general population does.

Interestingly millennials are more likely to utilize social media as a tool in the pursuit of their wellness goals. These consumers use technology like smart phone and tablet applications to achieve a healthier lifestyle. More than a third of this population track their food and beverage on a daily basis to get a better image of their daily intake. 12% of millennials also use social media support groups to reach out to the community.

Overall, millennials are more optimistic about the future of nutrition and food innovations. The major take away from this survey shows that millennials may be the ideal models for health and happiness. They may be wise after all!

Your Turn to Take Action: Take a tip from millennials – click here to join my free intuitive eating online support group and take strides towards ditching a diet mentality.

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