Was that dip matched by concurrent weight gain among Americans who suddenly couldn’t make it to their weekly weigh-ins or stock up on their meal-replacement shakes? Depends whose data you believe. A study published in the journal Obesity found a global decline in some healthy behaviors: Respondents ate more processed food and exercised less. And a recent survey from the market research firm Ipsos found that about a third of Americans said they had gained weight during the pandemic.
But research from a company that makes internet-connected scales, Withings, painted a different picture. The French company analyzed data from five million smart scales, hybrid smartwatches and smart thermometers, and found that people actually lost weight in 2020, or were more likely than in other years to hit their weight-loss goals, if they had them. (Of course, those who own such devices are a self-selecting group that likely were trying to lose weight.)
In any case, the weight-loss industry isn’t going to let a lack of data dull its zeal to convince Americans that yes, we got fat, and that now we need to get up off our couches and get back into shape — by buying their app, or signing up for their meal-delivery service or enrolling in their program. These corporate entities have been joined by the freelance scolds, the people who are not going to miss a chance to feel superior to their friendly neighborhood fatties. Magazines are full of diet-app roundups. Here is the famous physician wagging her finger at Krispy Kreme for offering free doughnuts to the vaccinated.
My Twitter feed is suddenly full of ads for intermittent fasting apps; on Instagram, it’s wall-to-wall shapewear and fat-shredding supplements. Then there’s the Facebook friend who really wants to talk about the Keto diet, or Optavia, or the Beachbody plan, and would be happy to bring me into the fold. (Yes, the weight-loss industry has branched into multilevel marketing.)
You can consume a lot of this marketing without ever hearing the words “weight” or “diet” or “calories.” The diet industry has gotten impressively subtle, even as it’s incessantly in your face. Everyone knows that diets don’t work in the long term; buzzwords like “wellness” and “strength” have replaced “diet” and “calories.” It’s all about being the best you that you can be — a you that is significantly thinner than the you right now.
This content was originally published here.
