Food for Thought (Young Feminists‪)‬

In high school, conversations tended to revolve around weight and body image rather than nutrition. The competitive atmosphere in the cafeteria convinced me that everyone could read my eating habits on my body Eating became the pathological behavior that made our bodies too large or too small, and girls blamed themselves for physical characteristics beyond their control. This illusion of control contributes to an artificial hierarchy of body types that creates feelings of inferiority and imperfection in women. Many cultural factors contribute to this nationwide problem. However, reassessing the role that food plays in our lives could promote sustainable eating habits and reduce the pressure to consider food in terms of its negative physical impacts. Studies indicate that women in the US often respond to food with feelings of stress rather than pleasure, associating eating with obesity and disease rather than nourishment. (2) Although we might expect this response to promote awareness about the problems associated with unhealthy eating, it does not appear to improve our food choices or confidence about those choices. While French women obsess about health, nutrients, and diet less often than American women do, American women classify themselves as "healthy eaters" less often than French women do. (2) At the same time, French women live longer and suffer from less cardiovascular disease than American women. (3)