Travel & Lifestyle: January Is Peak Diet Season — Here’s How You Can Protect Teens

Like clockwork, the turn of the new calendar year always brings a slew of chatter about weight loss, diets and exercise. Whether it’s in the form of a friend’s social media post proudly claiming “new year, new me,” or an influx of ads from gyms, it can seem impossible to escape the topic of dieting this time of year.

For teens who are developing their identities and may already be struggling with body image issues, being surrounded by this pervasive talk of food and weight can be damaging.

“Teens [are] still in the vulnerable stage of figuring out their sense of self, [so] they can be very susceptible to the marketing ploys selling the idea that a ‘new you’ means changing your body,” Edie Stark, owner of Stark Therapy Group and Edie Stark Consulting, told HuffPost.

This issue creeps up every January of course, but in the age of “What I ate in a day” reels, #SkinnyTok and ubiquitous GLP-1 use, it feels like this year’s “diet season” might be louder than ever.

“Long gone are the days of ‘tuning out’ the noise when we live in a society of 24/7 connectedness,” Elizabeth Wassenaar, Regional Medical Director of Eating Recovery Center, told HuffPost. “Diet culture has seeped into our everyday lives.”

Fortunately, there are things parents and caregivers can do to help their teens. By approaching the topic with compassion, curiosity and awareness, there are ways to protect teens from the damage of “diet season” and help them feel less alone in the process.

It’s important to recognize that topics of weight loss and dieting can creep up almost anywhere, from your teen’s FYP to their favorite celebrities to even their health class in school. Part of the reason for this is that diet culture has transformed under the guise of “wellness,” making it a bit harder to spot.

“Diet culture no longer shows up in the same overt way it used to,” Rachel Goldberg, a licensed psychotherapist specializing in eating disorders and body image, told HuffPost. “It is now often framed as ‘healthy living’ or ‘taking care of yourself,’ [and it’s] much less of an outward discussion among teens and instead shows up more discreetly, mostly through social media.”

Whether it’s a daily routine video from a favorite influencer, a celebrity promoting a “detox” product or a gym class that emphasizes BMI, teens are receiving information constantly about bodies, food and weight. “Because diet culture is often disguised as concern for health, discipline or self-improvement, it can be especially difficult for teens — and adults — to recognize,” Stark said. And while there are many avenues for diet culture to appear, the underlying message is always the same: the idea that “thin” is equal to healthy.

Not only is this untrue, of course, it’s incredibly harmful to teens who are figuring out who they are and may already be struggling with their bodies in the process. One national poll showed that 64% of parents of children ages 8-18 reported their child being self-conscious about some aspect of their appearance, while another international study reported 55% of adolescents who expressed dissatisfaction with their bodies. Research has shown an uptick in eating disorders among children and teens, and it’s estimated that 28.8 million Americans will have an eating disorder sometime in their lives.

It’s worth noting too that LGBTQIA+ individuals are at a higher risk of developing eating disorders than their straight and/or cisgender peers. BIPOC folks, while affected by eating disorders in the same ways as white people, are often underdiagnosed and less likely to be asked about eating disorder behaviors or thoughts by medical professionals.

“Adolescence is already a time of identity development, body changes and comparison, and when teens see adults and peers talking about weight loss as a goal or achievement, it can feel like something they should care about too,” Kara Becker, National Director of Eating Disorder Programs at the Newport Institute, told HuffPost. “If you add in social media algorithms that amplify this content in January, it’s easy to see how teens could struggle with their mental health during this time.”

It seems inevitable that teens will encounter diet culture, but it can be difficult to know whether they’re negatively impacted. It’s true that some teens may be able to brush off the constant chatter of food and weight, but others may struggle.

According to experts, parents should take note of the following red flags that could indicate a preoccupation with diet culture in teens:

Moralizing food: If your teen starts labeling food as “good” or “bad,” or using other qualifiers like “clean,” they might be repeating some of the things they’ve heard from videos or peers.

Fixation on appearance: This can show up verbally or in behaviors like body checking.

Interest in wellness trends: This could range from purchasing supplements to an uptick in consumption of fitness or “looksmaxxing” content.

New behaviors around food: If your teen begins skipping meals, acting rigid around eating or passing judgment on what others eat, it may be a sign that they’re impacted by diet talk.

It’s important to note that these behaviors don’t necessarily mean a teen has an eating disorder, but that they might be affected by what they’re seeing online or hearing from friends.

“Over time, this may look like a shrinking world, with less flexibility, joy and spontaneity around food and social situations,” Stark said, emphasizing that these symptoms can be present in any gender or body size.

It’s easy to feel helpless when it comes to addressing diet culture and teens, given how prevalent the topic has become. But it’s important to remember that parents and caregivers hold a lot of power in how they approach the topic, and what they model at home.

“Always start with curiosity rather than accusation, and do not be afraid to name that this can be a sensitive topic,” Goldberg said. Similarly, Wassenaar suggested picking a time and place where you can talk with your teen in a non-confrontational way. “Car rides are often a great way to open up the communication channels,” she added.

Here are some expert-approved conversation openings for discussing diet season with teens:

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• “I’ve noticed you’ve been really interested in nutrition and food lately. It seems like it’s become an important focus for you.”
• “It sounds like you’re getting much more into healthy living. Is that coming from something specific?”
• “I’ve noticed you’ve been talking a lot about your body lately. How do you feel about your body? I know social media and being around friends can sometimes bring up comparison.”

• “I’ve noticed you haven’t been speaking kindly about yourself lately. Can you share where that’s coming from?”
• “You’ve been re-posting and sharing content I hadn’t seen before; what makes you interested in these creators?”

• “I’ve noticed a lot of diet talk online lately, are you seeing that too?”
• “Do people at school ever talk about their bodies or dieting? What’s that like for you?”
• “How do you feel when you see fitness or food posts on social media?”
• “What messages do you think our culture sends about bodies?”
• “Who do you think benefits when we feel like we need to change ourselves?”

One of the most powerful ways to counteract the damage done by diet culture is to make sure you’re cultivating a healthy, positive and open environment at your own home.

“Using neutral language about your own body and food, avoiding weight-based comments altogether, and emphasizing what bodies can do rather than how they look sets a strong foundation,” said Stark, adding that the most impactful intervention is what we stop saying. It’s important to check yourself, too, and find ways to challenge diet culture within your own language.

A great first step is to make sure you’re not assigning morality to foods when discussing meals or dessert. “There are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods,” Wassenaar said. “You’re not ‘bad’ for eating that last piece of pie or ‘good’ for skipping the extra helping ― food has no moral value. It’s OK to allow yourself to enjoy the foods you love.”

GLP-1 drugs are another area that might trigger body image feelings in teens, and this one can be trickier to navigate because there are many parents who take these for medical purposes. If this is the scenario in your household, Goldberg suggested simply being communicative with your teen about why you take GLP-1 medications and allowing them space to ask questions.

“Being open about why someone is taking a medication, while also emphasizing the importance of fueling the body in a balanced way, is often healthier than being discreet or suddenly changing diet habits without discussion,” Goldberg said.

Even with the best intentions and a collection of resources, sometimes teens need professional help when it comes to body image and eating. “If a teen is consistently skipping meals, significantly changing their eating habits, exercising compulsively, withdrawing from friends, or expressing distress about their body and how they look, it’s time to seek professional mental health support,” Becker said.

Some additional signs that your teen might need outside help might include:

• Increased anxiety
• Emotional withdrawal
• Physical symptoms like dizziness, fatigue or gastrointestinal issues
• Noticeable changes in weight, particularly sudden
• Feeling cold
• Hair thinning or hair loss

“When thoughts about food and body begin taking up a significant amount of mental space, it’s often a sign that something deeper is going on,” Stark said, emphasizing that caregivers should act early, lead with curiosity, and try to avoid weight-focused or diet-based interventions. “Support is not failure — it’s protection. Getting help early is an act of prevention and love, not overreaction.”