Trigger warning : weight stigma, disordered eating .
Living in a male-gaze-centered society, it’s no wonder that women have always been a primary focus within the media when discussing appearances. This means that the majority of weight loss depictions within the media are aimed at a female audience aged between their teens and 45, although not exclusively. This is a key period in a woman’s life and the time when they are most concerned with the social pressures of body image. The media has perpetuated these insecurities to profit off them—by introducing an issue, they can provide a ‘solution’ for it.
Even though it is not the focal point of this article, it is also important to discuss how weight loss is portrayed in relation to men and how it indirectly influences them.
magazines
Coming across dieting regimes was almost unavoidable during the 2000s and 2010s—they were plastered all over magazines. Thus, readers became accustomed to seeing them to the point where the message became internalised and they turned to these ‘solutions’ themselves.
The Sensa diet product was released in 2009 and appeared mostly on the inside pages of magazines (including commercials), with a promise of still being able to ‘eat your favourite foods without counting calories, no stimulants or pills, and you can still end up with a gym body by sprinkling food enhancement on top of it’. Over half a million individuals bought into this diet under the false promise of easy weight loss without restricting eating habits. It was later discovered that the Sensa company had not peer-reviewed their studies, suggesting that they could be falsifying their own results. This was proven to be the case as four years after its release, marketers had to pay $905,000 (equivalent to $1,183,740 in 2023) to settle false advertisement charges in California and, a year later, the FTC issued a $26.5 million fine to settle charges of unfounded weight-loss claims. This is just one case out of millions where companies prey on readers’ insecurities through the wording of the ad to profit and give them a false sense of hope of change without altering their day-to-day lives.
When looking into weight loss advertisements, it is impossible not to discuss Kim Kardashian’s infamous ads with QuickTrim in the 2010s. Instantly, the brand name ‘quick trim’ implies that losing weight should be simple, easy and quick to achieve the desired body. Using a celebrity like Kim Kardashian, who has long been held up as the optimum standard of beauty and shape, guarantees the success of the product. Audiences look to her as an example of what they should look like. With her fame as a reality star, it meant a huge group of loyal fans would buy into this product, too. This was a guaranteed success from a marketing standpoint. She weaponises this by making direct eye contact with the reader and smiling, creating a sense of intimacy between her and the observer as she is directly engaging with them, turning them from a passive observer to an active one by encouraging them to purchase the product. The sense of intimacy is furthered by the quote, ‘I’ve reached my goal’ as she is letting them in on her secret. At this point in time, most people believed that Kim’s body was completely natural and not achieved through cosmetic surgery. This is because she attributes her body type to dieting and exercise. However, thousands of medical professionals have come out to explain that her changes could not have been achieved this way. She was later sued by the FDA for 5 million dollars as a result of using deceptive marketing; the diet pill’s main ingredient, caffeine, is not recognised as safe or an effective weight loss product. It is abundantly clear that this product sold a lie to consumers in order to make a profit, not caring about the damage that would occur to women both having been exposed to this ad and also buying into the fad of dieting pills.
However, weight loss regiments look very different when the target audience is men as their beauty standard lies with having bigger muscles and ‘being in shape’. In the 2010s, Men’s Health, owned by conglomerate Hearst, was the main perpetrator of promoting weight loss through fitness regimes as a way to build muscle and become more lean. In the March 2010 cover featuring Paul Walker, the masthead of the cover was ‘Fast-Track Fat-Loss Plan’ with sell lines such as ‘The flat-belly muscle (and how to work it)’. This showcases to male audiences that the only way to be viewed as attractive (like Paul Walker) is to have muscles and be lean, with the solution provided inside the magazine. Like women’s magazines, front covers prey on individuals’ insecurities, with men’s being that they aren’t muscular, as a way to draw them in and sell them a solution—by buying the magazine individuals buy into the solution. Even in the 2017 cover featuring Vin Diesel, it is found to be the same case as they used sell lines like ‘Lose 8 kgs fast! Gut gone in 60 seconds’ and ‘Demolish junk food cravings’.
film and tv
This subcategory of media often showcases what popular culture is at the time and who are the role models we are to look to, in both the physical and personal sense. In the 2000s and early 2010s, it became a common occurrence to give plus-sized people roles that either demonised them or made them the butt of the joke, with slimmer people being positioned as the opposite. This exemplifies the ‘halo effect’ wherein people who are viewed as being conventionally attractive are perceived to be of good character and vice versa. Indirectly, this enforces the notion that those who are plus-sized are lesser people and contributes towards creating a very unhealthy image of oneself and an unhealthy driving force for trying to lose weight.
This holds true in Pitch Perfect (2012), where a character is nicknamed after her weight and solely referred to as ‘Fat Amy’. This was the only portrayal of a plus-size character in the film, and she is only part of the main cast as a way to provide comic relief, with the rest of her character being surface-level and never having proper character development. Not only is she labelled by her weight, but there are several uncomfortable scenes in the film which shame Amy. For instance, when she is driving the Bellas to the Semi-Finals and filling up the tank at the gas station, Bumper throws a burrito at her. Even though these instances aren’t directly promoting weight loss, they still send out the message that being bigger is a justifiable point of ridicule, so the only way to avoid that is by losing weight.
In the original Mean Girls, one of the most prominent topics within the film is weight, with one of Regina’s most memorable lines being ‘I need to lose 3 pounds’. Direct references to losing weight when she is the pinnacle of the beauty standard show that you can ‘never be too skinny’. These phrases are especially harmful as it promotes disordered eating and restricting one’s diet, all to become more attractive to others and makes audiences question themselves and their body image. Later on in the film, Regina gains weight and no longer represents the beauty standard, which leads to her decline in popularity to the point where another student says, ‘Move it fatass’ and the whole cafeteria laughs at her for her weight—which should be noted was not unhealthy at all, it was more about the perception of Regina. At the end of the film she goes back to her original appearance and all is well, however, these harmful portrayals of weight and weight loss stay with audiences even after the film finishes. Regina represents that to be skinny is to be beautiful and popular, the main character in a story, and to be heavier is to be sidelined.
now
With the digital revolution and the popularity of social media, magazine readership and consumption has severely declined—in 2000, 1.6 billion magazines were being circulated, but that number has gone down to 565 million in 2021. Before the rise of citizen journalism, big corporations used to maintain a clear separation between themselves and the reader, but since then, it has merged into one—we are now a prosumer (producer and consumer).
influencers
A major issue with a large percentage of influencers is that they are not disclosing ads properly, failing to inform audiences that they were paid to promote the product. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to discern what is sponsored content and what is a genuine recommendation and this is especially harmful when it comes to weight loss, with many influencers attributing their weight change to detox teas or workout regimes, when in actuality, they had surgery and access to personal trainers and nutritionists. They sell a lie to consumers because these individuals know that their audience will buy into the product because of this pre-established ‘friendship’ with the influencer. This is very reflective of the 2010s, as they would use celebrities who were known for their body to promote very similar products. The difference now is that advertisements aren’t as easily spotted. Specific examples of this are Skinny Mint, Slendertox, and Flat Tummy Co which rely solely on influencers promoting their products as it’s the easiest way to maximise profit. These individuals purposely don’t disclose that it’s an ad so that audiences will believe them and buy into the product.
Even though this is a major issue, there are several content creators whose accounts are solely dedicated to calling out influencers who are sponsored by detox teas and promote certain workout regimes. These accounts also criticise others who shame other creators’ bodies or what someone else is eating. These creators are incredibly valuable as they help audiences decode what is an ad and a recommendation, as well as bringing awareness to what actually works and what is a blatant lie.
‘Girl Dinner’ and ‘Boy Dinner’
The ‘girl dinner’ trend gained popularity on TikTok, where individuals would show their dinner and caption it ‘girl dinner’. There were two sides to this trend: the first demonstrated home-cooked and nutritious meals, however, this was not what the trend was known for. The videos that gained the most traction were the plates which were half empty, or showed non-nutritious foods, like plain pasta with cheese, chips—‘beige foods’. The second half of the trend inadvertently promoted weight loss, as it normalised under-eating and replacing food with nicotine, as vapes were often pictured with the food. Even though it is not explicitly depicting itself to be a weight loss ad or even resembling it, it still has the undertones of one. In comparison, ‘boy dinner’ focuses on nutrition and overeating as a form of bulking, reinforcing a gender divide and stereotyping, perpetuating how girls need to eat less to stay skinny, while boys need to bulk in order to be fit and muscular.
the Body Inclusivity Movement and the Rise of Ozempic
This movement began in the early 2010s, where individuals were advocating for the acceptance and respect of all body types and sizes, making sure that they are represented within the media. This change was monumental, with big clothing brands finally taking accountability for purposely not including bigger sizes, attempting to only cater to slimmer bodies. One major change that occurred in 2024 was that the Victoria Secret fashion runway show, for the first time in history, included Ashley Graham, a 37 year old mid-size model who often speaks about body positivity and is a body activist. The Victoria Secret angels were once just slim, young women, however because of the body positivity movement, they were forced to change this as a result of the major backlash they received.
During this change, Ozempic and other generic appetite suppressants became popularised as a form of ‘easy’ weight loss, as this type of drug mimics a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar and appetite levels. Even though these drugs are used by individuals with type 2 diabetes, celebrities caught onto the side effects of weight loss and started using them. If the average person wanted to use Ozempic and they didn’t have the medical conditions, then they would be paying full price for the drug as insurance companies wouldn’t cover it, hence why the drug has only truly risen in popularity amongst celebrities. People like Sharon Osbourne and Oprah Winfrey have publicly discussed their use of Ozempic in order to lose weight and stay ‘fit’, whereas James Corden expressed that he tried it but it didn’t work for him because it just made him not hungry. Ozempic has become so infamous to the point of being mentioned at the Golden Globes— ‘biggest night for Ozempic’—this reinforces the normalisation of weight loss within pop culture. This echoes the 2000/ 2010s as weight loss drugs were so common not only in print but also being discussed and endorsed by big celebrities, however, not to this extent. The growing issue with Ozempic is not only does it promote harmful beauty stereotypes but also the patients who are reliant on this drug are experiencing shortages, long waiting lists and price surges all because of celebrities discussing and promoting it, leading to further health complications.
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In the UK, print and online ads for prescription-only weight loss medicines are illegal and can result in action from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), so these sorts of advertisements are only really seen within the US.
Very recently, Sara, who goes by the username @smoranoo on tik tok, shared a video of the ad she saw in the Times Square subway. This video showed an entire wall, columns and stairs covered with ads for Ro, a telehealth company that is offering a weight loss program with Wegovy prescriptions. This campaign included slogans such as ‘A weekly shot to lose weight’ alongside an individual injecting the medication into their arms and stomachs. On their website, it mentions ‘There’s a reason everyone is talking about Wegovy and Ozempic. They work! … On average, people on Wegovy lose 15 per cent of their weight in a year’. The company notes that, if a patient’s insurance does not cover the prescriptions, ‘you’ll have the option to either pay for the medication out of pocket (typically $900 to $1,600 pm depending on the medication) or cancel your body program membership’. This company also promotes self-diagnosing and does not require individuals to have a doctor’s consultation before using the drug. This is incredibly similar to the 2000s, encouraging people to put anything into their body before doing any prior research as a means to maximise profits. The major response to this has been that it’s unethical and disappointing after having believed we have changed as a society.
so where does that leave us?
Wording regarding weight loss and body types has drastically changed over the years as companies no longer use harsh or shameful words to describe individuals or a specific clothing range. For example, Victoria’s Secret finally included a body type that wasn’t slim last year in their runway show, a company renowned for upholding the beauty stereotype. As much as this progress was needed, companies have also taken advantage of the medium changing, going from print to social media, as they are able to recruit influencers to promote their products without properly disclosing key information, fooling audiences into believing it’s genuine advice. This has led to confusion amongst audiences and the need to start decoding everything we see around us, as nothing has a clear message anymore.
The issue with modern media is the reliance on algorithms. If you interact with any content regarding this topic, for example on TikTok, your ‘for you page’ will continue and increase that sort of content because it thinks you like it. Therefore, it’s a lot harder in comparison to the 2000s to separate yourself from this sort of topic and we have become a lot more conscious of our appearance, both physically and online, constantly monitoring them.
In short: yes, weight loss depiction has progressed to a more positive point within the media, but recently, it has regressed again, depicting many of the same notions of weight loss as in the 2000s/2010s.