(Montreal) Although many of them are still concerned about their weight, the discourse of Quebecers on body image focuses more and more on the acceptance of one’s body and on well-being rather than on the obsession with thinness.
According to a Léger survey conducted last August among 1,808 people on behalf of the ÉquiLibre collective, the results of which were released earlier this week, a “significant proportion” of Quebecers aged 14 and over are dissatisfied with their bodies.
Nearly two out of three respondents (62%) said they wanted to lose weight, regardless of the number given to them by their scale. In addition, 42% of those surveyed also said they were anxious or stressed because of their weight; an identical proportion said they felt pressured to look good enough.
This dissatisfaction is reflected in many by an obsession with controlling their weight (36%) or their diet, in particular by limiting or reducing the quantity of food ingested (46%).
ÉquiLibre considers this last observation to be alarming and bears witness to “the constant struggle with food, and hinders the development of a positive relationship with food”.
The guilt of not doing more physical activity also gnaws at more than one in two people (57%). In addition, 40% of respondents even claim to be under some pressure to move more.
It is very worrying when we know that people are stressed or anxious, that the management of their weight comes to dominate their life; we are no longer simply preoccupied with our appearance.
Andrée-Ann Dufour-Bouchard, nutritionist and project manager at ÉquiLibre
Mickaël Bergeron, journalist, speaker and author of the essay wholesale life, is not surprised at the results of the survey. “Both in magazines and in the media, we can see that there is a sort of individual and collective obsession with weight. Unfortunately, it is too often accompanied by ignorance of the links between weight and health. »
“People put a lot of pressure on themselves to meet very subjective standards that don’t always have to do with health,” adds the man who pleads for more awareness and education on a large scale to debunk the persistent myths around the weight.
Resisting diet culture
The concerns raised by survey respondents are fueled by what EquiLibre calls “diet culture,” especially at this time of year when weight loss resolutions are rife.
Author of the blog Le Beau Désordre and in remission from more than twenty years of eating disorders, Granbyienne Karine Nadeau said she was flabbergasted by the figures revealed by ÉquiLibre. “It’s still too large a proportion of the population for whom their body image is an issue,” she says. At the same time, we are bombarded every day with images that tell us that we have to fit into a mold. But the reality is very different. »
Individuals worried about their weight and their body image would also be more vulnerable to marketing from the weight-loss industry, which sometimes makes untenable promises.
“The tendency to want to go on a diet is still very present, recognizes Mme Dufour Bouchard. What has evolved is that there is more and more talk about the risks of diets and severe restrictions. »
However, the weight loss industry has also adapted to this discourse, promising “benevolent and guilt-free approaches”, adds Ms.me Dufour Bouchard. “In reality, it remains the same message: try to control your weight with a ready-made recipe that we try to apply to everyone in the same way. »
For a discourse on the defocused body of appearance
More and more voices are raised against the pressure to have a perfect body and against the unrealistic body images circulating on social networks.
Moreover, a Léger survey conducted in Quebec for the organization ÉquiLibre reveals that 69% of respondents believe that “there are too many comments on people’s weight and appearance on social networks” and 58% that the media is talking about too much weight.
This weariness with the discourse on weight clearly demonstrates the evolution of mentalities and people’s awareness of the misdeeds of the culture of diets.
Andrée-Ann Dufour-Bouchard, nutritionist and project manager at ÉquiLibre
“At the same time, it is not the fault of social networks as such, nuance Mickaël Bergeron, journalist and author. As much as they are a problem serving as a propagator for social norms like ideal weight, it is a platform that can serve to deconstruct them. »
In response to the cult of thinness, the body positivity movement emerged a few years ago. “It was mainly aimed at demonstrating body diversity and promoting love for one’s body,” explains Ms.me Dufour Bouchard. But that maintained the idea that the body must be found beautiful, that it must be loved; this is a goal that can be difficult for some people to achieve. »
“There is a common wave towards self-benevolence, towards self-compassion, it feels so good it’s refreshing! exclaims Bromont blogger Karine Nadeau, who suffered from compulsive eating disorders for twenty years. We can be so good in our body in our head. Beauty is not only played by the physical. »
A new discourse has therefore emerged more recently, this one related to the functionality of the body, preferred to its appearance.
The answer to body positivity is body neutrality, where instead we recognize that our body is capable of accomplishing several things. In short, we like what it allows us to do rather than what it looks like.
Andrée-Ann Dufour-Bouchard, nutritionist and project manager at ÉquiLibre
“This way of perceiving our body can encourage us differently to take care of it from a different perspective than to want to change its silhouette,” she adds. Thus, we will be less inclined to restrict the number of calories we ingest, but to want to eat better; we will want to exercise not to lose weight, but to be in better shape, for example. »
The winning formula, yes to find yourself beautiful as you are, but at the same time, you are able to love your body without being able to love all the parts of your body, agrees Karine Nadeau. My body gave me two children; I appreciate it today. My arms, I don’t like them, but at the same time, thanks to them I can play the guitar, take my children in my arms, hug the people I love. »
This dispatch was produced with financial assistance from the Meta Exchange and The Canadian Press for News.