Workplace Food and Body Liberation
Picture this….you go into the mailroom and see a bag of cookies that somebody left for everybody. There are also a couple of your work colleagues there. You all are surrounding the plate of cookies. Then the comments start. “Ohhh I want one but I need to work out first”. “I am trying to lose weight so no cookies for me”. “ I am not doing sugar right now." Then you all start talking about your workplace wellness program and how you, “should all take a walk together right now and move away from the cookies.”
The problem with this scenario is that it’s commonplace. It’s not regulated. It has become acceptable. It’s assumed you are trying to “help” each other. But this is diet talk and is quite harmful. Also, it doesn’t feel good for anybody here.
Food Shaming In the Workplace
This is such a common occurrence. I hear it from individuals in the workplace time and time again.
Let’s start by answering what food shaming or guilting is.
Food shaming happens when another person judges or criticizes what another person eats. It can cause guilt, stress, and embarrassment to the person receiving the comment.
These judgments around what we should and shouldn’t eat stem from diet culture which is intersected with racism and other forms of oppression. And diet culture takes on a mindset that being thin matters above all else.
Some Examples of Food Shaming:
- "Wow, that’s a healthy serving."
- "Your plate looks like it could feed an entire family."
- "Woah, did you work out or something?"
- "Is that your whole meal? You’re already so thin."
- "That looks terrible. What is it?"
The story I shared in the beginning happens all the time. And yet, it’s not considered inappropriate or harassment. The problem is, it is.
The next time you decide to make a comment about what someone’s eating, ask yourself why. Take some time to think about how diet culture is impacting you.
Work needs to be a space where your colleagues can thrive… without diet culture looming in.
Weight Discrimination in the Workplace
Food shaming is not the only challenge in the workplace. Weight discrimination in the workplace is a serious problem.
Weight discrimination is real... and it’s harmful. And not okay.
When we judge people for their weight, it leads to other assumptions.
In 2017, 500 hiring professionals were shown a photo of a large-bodied woman by researchers at the job site Fairygodboss and asked if they would hire her. Only 15.6% of them said they would — and 20% said they thought she was “lazy.”
Furthermore, 21% of large-bodied individuals felt they had been passed over for a job or promotion because of their weight.
Both weight discrimination and food shaming are rampant issues… largely due to wellness programs.
Wellness is a new concept. It’s a broad term that seems to be a catch-all. And yet, it’s creating a lot of harm.
These weight-loss and wellness programs pressure employees to restrict their eating and sometimes over-exercise.
I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound like wellness to me. It is actually quite harmful.
Be Part in Creating an Inclusive Thriving Workforce
We are at work for such a large proportion of our waking hours. Our ableist work demands continue to increase. Yet the pressures of work demands make it difficult to eat away from our desks.
We want a work environment where we celebrate food, movement, and each other. We are already pressured by work demand. We do not need to add the pressures of diet culture to our work.
So how do we combat these challenges in the workplace?
Let’s be part of needed change…
If you see these challenges in your workplace, bring them to the attention of a leader at your organization.
Urge them to address these issues. If they don’t know how to do that, share resources for experts who can help.
I am deeply passionate about addressing these issues in the workplace.
In my Workplace Food and Body Liberation Workshop, you will:
- Learn about diet culture and how it impacts your work setting
- Explore your own weight stigma biases in a safe space
- Discover how to build a workplace culture that is connected and empowered to make changes in a way to create food and body liberation
Who this is for:
- Companies
- Nonprofits
- Small Business Owners
- Communities
- Organizations
Schedule Your Call Today:
Why is Eating Disorder Training Being Left out of Medical Schools?
Eating disorders affect at least 9% of the population worldwide.1 That means 28.8 million Americans, will have an eating disorder in their lifetime.2 This poses as a significant financial burden as the economic cost of eating disorders is $64.7 billion every year.2
Of all mental illnesses, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate.
And yet, studies show that medical students receive less than two hours of training on eating disorders. They study for 4 to 6 years and spend less than two hours on an illness with a high mortality rate.
Individuals suffering from eating disorders have shared that doctors’ knowledge around eating disorders, or lack of it, can be the difference to continuing to suffer and recovery.
According to a study done in the UK, only 42% felt that their general practitioner (doctor) understood eating disorders. Only 34% believed their doctor knew how to help them with their illness.
To Recap….
- Eating disorders impact millions of people
- They have a high mortality rate
- General practitioners are the frontline workers about individuals’ health
- Medical schools provide medical students with less than two hours of education on eating disorders
What gives?
It seems to me that there is a clear gap. And it doesn’t appear to be that difficult to solve.
Closing the Gap: Training for Medical Practices
I am passionate about closing this gap. This is why I have put together training to support practitioners.
If you haven’t worked directly with eating disorders, addressing and treating them can be stressful. They can also become more complicated. Sometimes you know an eating disorder is present but your client/patient refuses treatment.
In my training, How to Treat Eating Disorders in Your Practice, you will learn how to navigate the complexity of eating disorders. You will discover tools and treatment ideas to help you support your patients.
Who this training is for:
- Therapists, psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists
- Mental health interns
- Post doc residents
- Physicians
- Nurses and dieticians
Over the years, I have discovered that we have many frontline workers. So I have built two additional training sessions to help us get ahead of this eating disorder epidemic.
Eating Disorders in the Classroom
Eating disorders are on the rise, and many teachers are not sure of how to approach it. There is all kinds of information about eating disorders.
Teachers wonder what to do with that information. It can feel overwhelming. Especially with everything else a teacher must watch for among their students.
In my Eating Disorders in the Classroom training, you will learn about eating disorders and treatment options. You will discover how to handle circumstances with students. You will learn what questions to ask your students.
Together, we explore your own fears, concerns and biases around eating disorders in a safe place. You will walk away confident and prepared to support your students.
Who this training is for:
- Elementary School to High School Teachers
- Teachers’ Assistants
- School Administrators
The classroom training helps address eating disorders from Kindergarten to High School. But this still leaves a big gap.
That’s why I built my Workplace Food and Body Liberation training. To tackle eating disorders with adults, through their companies. After all, we spend 40+ hours a week at work. It has a huge impact on our day-to-day lives.
Workplace Food and Body Liberation
We are at work for such a large proportion of our waking hours. Our work demands continue to increase. Yet the pressures of work demands make it difficult to eat away from our desks.
Many workplaces are adopting work programs that focus on food and physical activity. Many “healthy work programs “ take a restrictive approach to food. And a focus on weight loss with physical activity.
We want a work environment where we celebrate food, movement, and each other.
We are already pressured by work demands, we do not need to add the pressures of diet culture to our work.
In my Workplace Food and Body Liberation Training, you will learn about diet culture. How diet culture impacts your workplace. We will explore your own weight stigma biases in a safe space. And you will discover how to build a workplace culture that’s empowered to make changes for food and body liberation.
Who this training is for:
- Companies
- Nonprofits
- Small Business Owners
- Communities
- Organizations
Change begins when we can individually and collectively embrace nourishment, our bodies and each other.
We all deserve to experience food and body liberation.
We all deserve that freedom. It is vital.
Need Help?
I also provide customized training around specific topics or needs.
Let’s connect and see what we can build to get you and your team back on track.
Speak soon.
1Arcelus, Jon et al. “Mortality rates in patients with anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders. A meta-analysis of 36 studies.” Archives of general psychiatry 68,7 (2011): 724-31. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.74
2Deloitte Access Economics. The Social and Economic Cost of Eating Disorders in the United States of America: A Report for the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders and the Academy for Eating Disorders. June 2020. Available at: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/striped/report-economic-costs-of-eating-disorders/.