Millie Burton

New Year is often perceived as a celebration, a positive way to reflect on the achievements of the year prior, and to embrace the promise of a clean slate in the future. However, for those who struggle with incessant perfectionism and self-development, the new year comes with a burden to outperform the – already overachieving – past version of yourself, and creates a toxic cycle of dissatisfaction, disappointment, and perceived inadequacy. 

One only needs to take a brief look at social media to be exposed to unrealistic expectations, mentally, physically, professionally, even spiritually. Although social media imposing impossible standards on young adults is nothing new, this accelerates alongside the new year, promoting positive habits to ‘help’ those who want to ‘get their life together’. But I ask – can too much ‘good’ knowledge have a bad effect? 

For example, the constant exposure to ‘health advice’, often from unqualified influencers who promote a toxic emphasis on food restriction and strict exercise regimes, can get into the psyche of those who know better – let alone the effect that their words have on impressionable young people. Damaging diet culture is only exacerbated in the new year: the message ‘New Year, New You” implies that your current self is ‘inherently flawed’ and in need of ‘perfecting’.¹ These beliefs are enmeshed in weight stigma, the institutionalised narrative that a smaller body is a healthier body and thus more desirable.² For those who have suffered with eating disorders, the normalisation of weight-centred resolutions can lead to the relapse of harmful thoughts around food, exercise, and body image. 

Eating disorders are competitive, so when one is attempting recovery and observes those around them aspiring to lose weight, it can become all-consuming to stop falling back into harmful habits that you have worked so hard to overcome. This is not to shame those who seek to implement healthier habits in the new year. When positive changes are employed in moderation and focussed around improving general wellbeing and happiness, we should encourage lifestyle shifts, not critique them. The issue arises when people romanticise ‘January diet culture’ into a mandatory ritual that all must subscribe to. The vacuum of diet-based content on TikTok can be witnessed all year round, from the ‘almond mum’ trend to accusations about celebrity use of Ozempic, you cannot escape society’s fixation on weight-loss under the guise of ‘self-improvement’. 

The exploitation of the human desire for self-improvement by the diet and wellness industry is ironic, seeing as calorie restriction and over-exercising both damage the body, compared to true health-focussed development. Health is a state of physical, mental, and social well-being, not a number on a scale. 

Non-diet personal trainer and eating disorder awareness advocate Kira Onysko has researched the toll on mental health, finding that “dieting and pursuing intentional weight loss actually makes people feel worse about their bodies, not better.”³ A concerning statistic that Onysko shares is that “dieting is one of the biggest predictors when it comes to the development of eating disorders: 35% of people who diet develop disordered eating habits, which exist on a spectrum of problematic eating habits. Of that percentage, another 25% will go on to develop a full-blown eating disorder”, “Dieting, as well as exercising for the purpose of weight loss, is also linked to increases in depression, lowered self-esteem, and reduced quality of life.”⁴

We can see the hold that the ‘health’ industry has on our generation, prioritising society’s fixation on looking healthy, as opposed to actually feeling and being healthy. 

So, how can we protect ourselves from falling victim to diet culture-inspired content in the new year (and all year round)? 

Reframe the Narrative – Instead of putting all of your time and energy into envisioning how you want your body to look, instead try to concentrate on how you want your body to feel, and how to achieve that feeling. For example, if you want to feel energised, happy, and balanced, then you need to ensure that you are concerned with nourishing your body with all the vitamins, minerals, and food groups it requires, rather than restricting them through counting calories. 

Honour your body’s needs and natural cues – It is of utmost importance that everything you do, you are doing because you want to do it, rather than doing something because you feel that you ought to or because everyone else does it. We shouldn’t take it to extremes and praise a complete lack of motivation, but it does mean that if one day you just aren’t feeling up for going to the gym, respect that feeling and go for a light walk instead. Consistency, health, and wellness is all about knowing yourself and trusting yourself to make decisions that are good for you. 

Unfollow accounts that fail to serve you – You are the product of the content that you consume. It is obvious that if you engage with influencers who promote toxic diet culture or health extremes then that will begin to take its toll on your body image and fitness regime. Instead, focus on investing your attention in accounts that empower you, as this will be more beneficial to your long-term health and wellness journey. 

I hope this article reminds those who currently feel burdened by the pressure that the new year brings, to be kind to yourself, as restriction and obsessive habits only harbours unsustainable and harmful results in the long-term. If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, there are organisations that can help. The charity Beat Eating Disorders offer helplines from 3pm-8pm Monday to Friday, and provide resources and support groups.⁵

1.  Carolyn Karoll, Eating Disorders and The New Year, (2024), <https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/eating-disorder-recovery/202412/eating-disorders-and-the-new-year#:~:text=Weight%2Dcentric%20New%20Year’s%20resolutions,and%20not%20defined%20by%20weight.>  [accessed: Wednesday 15 January 2025]. ↩︎
2.  Ibid. ↩︎
3.  Danielle Sinay, My New Year’s resolution? Ignoring every weight loss ad, (2023), < https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/new-years-diet-culture&gt; , [accessed: Wednesday 15 January 2025]. ↩︎
4.  Ibid. ↩︎
5. https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/get-information-and-support/get-help-for-myself/i-need-support-now/helplines/ [accessed: Wednesday 15th January] ↩︎

Image credits: Iris Venning, 2023