What Is Healthism and Why Is It Problematic?
Written by Isabel Vasquez RD, LDN
We all know how prevalent diet and wellness culture are in our society. Within that culture, appearance and health have become one in the same.
People believe that by looking at an individual, they can tell their health status. However, that’s a false assumption. People in large bodies can have great health, and those in straight-size bodies can suffer with a variety of health conditions.
Size isn’t the end-all be-all when it comes to health.
Unfortunately, these false ideas have manifested in concern trolling: when people’s anti-fat bias is disguised as “concern” for people’s health. There are a myriad of problems with that, one of which is the inherent healthism at play.
In this blog post, learn what healthism is and why it’s so problematic.
What is Healthism?
Healthism is a term coined by Robert Crawford. He defines healthism as, “the preoccupation with personal health as a primary—often the primary—focus for the definition and achievement of well-being; a goal which is to be obtained primarily through the modification of life styles.”
Healthism places onus on the individual to attain health instead of placing responsibility on the systems that greatly impact health.
For example, rather than ensuring everyone has access to fresh fruits and vegetables, healthism shames people for not eating enough fresh produce (neglecting to consider whether they can afford to eat these foods and whether they have access to a market that sells this type of food.)
Viewed from this lens, health purely becomes an individual pursuit.
The Problem With Healthism
It’s Individualistic.
At its core, healthism does not take into account the social determinants of health (SDOH), which explain how health is impacted by far more than just our individual decisions and actions.
The five domains of the SDOH are:
Economic stability
Education access and quality
Health care access and quality
Neighborhood and built environment
Social and community context.
These five domains capture how our health is not just just impacted by how often we go to the gym, but by how safe and walkable our neighborhood is.
They address how not having access to high-quality healthcare impacts our health more than whether or not we eat a salad everyday.
We all hold certain privileges or lack thereof that greatly impact our health status and access to care.
Despite what diet culture convinces us, health is about far more than just nutrition and movement, and it’s about far more than our individual behaviors.
It Makes Health A Moral Obligation.
Not only does healthism lack consideration for systemic factors out of our control, but it makes health a moral obligation that everyone is expected to strive for.
Being unhealthy becomes synonymous with being less worthy. Yet, we all deserve respect regardless of our health status.
We are worthy no matter what our health status is.
We also all deserve the autonomy to decide what we want for our own bodies.
Meanwhile, the reality of our healthcare system is that many are unable to truly have that autonomy due to systemic factors out of our control.
For example, does someone really have body autonomy if they are subject to environmental pollutants that are left unaddressed due to the area being home to a low income, primarily black and brown community?
It Doesn’t Account for Genetics.
Besides the SDOH, genetics are another major factor that influence health outcomes. Yet, healthism makes you feel shame if you have a health issue.
For example, high cholesterol can be greatly influenced by genetics. In fact, familial hypercholesterolemia is a fancy term for high cholesterol due to genetics.
In this case, you can incorporate as many nutrition changes as you want, but your cholesterol may still be high. That isn’t a moral failing, it’s just genetics.
Healthism and Diet Culture Go Hand-in-Hand
Healthism has taken root in our society in many ways and spreads alongside diet culture.
How often do people police fat bodies in the name of health?
How about the interchangeable use of “healthy” and “good” to describe food nowadays?
How many times do health issues get blamed on someone being “lazy” or having a “lack of willpower”?
How about people eating certain foods and saying the food alone will “give them diabetes” or something similar?
Too often.
Take time to reflect on how healthism shows up in your life.
Have you been subject to others’ healthism-influenced comments?
Do you view health as primarily an individual pursuit?
How does your health status shape how you view your worth?
Final Thoughts
Healthism is a powerful force in our society. For many of us, it has taken root in our mind without us even realizing it.
So, consider how it has taken root for you and challenge these thoughts. Remember that health isn’t just about individual behaviors; it’s also about systemic factors.
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