Summary

Weight-loss dieting refers to purposefully regulating, usually limiting, food intake in order to achieve a specific goal, typically focused on weight management. Weight-loss dieting practices can involve reducing calorie intake, limiting portions, or following a particular eating pattern or regimen—for example, cutting carbohydrates and fats while preferring proteins. Yet dieting is much more than an individual activity. It is influenced by and mirrors a society’s power dynamics and social hierarchies that are also determined by weight and body shape. Looking particularly at the history of this phenomenon in modern industrialized societies like the United States, developments in weight-loss dieting are closely intertwined with gender and citizenship. Weight-loss dieting was a male practice in the 19th century and became a decidedly feminized practice in the 20th century. Furthermore, there have been concerns about the negative effects of weight-loss dieting as voiced by anti-diet nutritionists and the academic field of fat studies. Weight management is expressive of public discourses around health, capitalism, and body politics.