General Mills and other junk-food giants are cashing in on the anti-diet trend that aims to normalize obesity
· Apr 3, 2024 · NottheBee.com

How many times do I have to begin an article with, "Boy, I didn't see that coming"?

Like, why is everything so predictable these days?

For instance:

 

 

This is just gross. Like, I know you're supposed to take advantage of trends in capitalism, but goodness this is a bad look.

Here are some examples of social media telling us that unhealthy foods are cool and "weight stigma" [read: calling fat people fat] is bad. These people are spreading the teachings of the anti-diet movement (no, I'm not making that up):

And here's an example of a "dietitian" teaming up with General Mills and promoting their sugary cereals:

Sugary cereals. Great for your health!

Here's another even more outlandish example where a social media influencer mocks healthy eating:

Let's see what WaPo has in this article for us.

One company in particular, General Mills, maker of Cocoa Puffs and Lucky Charms cereals, has launched a multi-pronged campaign that capitalizes on the teachings of the anti-diet movement, an investigation by The Examination and The Washington Post has found.

General Mills has toured the country touting anti-diet research it claims proves the harms of "food shaming." It has showered giveaways on registered dietitians who promote its cereals online with the hashtag #DerailTheShame, and sponsored influencers who promote its sugary snacks. The company has also enlisted a team of lobbyists and pushed back against federal policies that would add health information to food labels.

General Mills complies with federal regulations and "works closely with a variety of scientific, health, nutrition and other credentialed experts to ensure we provide accurate, evidence-based information," said spokesperson Andrea Williamson.

Online dietitians — many of them backed by food makers — also are building lucrative followings by co-opting anti-diet messages. Anti-diet hashtags, such as #NoBadFoods, #FoodFreedom and #DitchTheDiet, have proliferated on social media.

As you saw above, these videos are pretty nifty, and they seem legit even though they're teaching bad eating.

The numbers, though, on these anti-diet social media dietitians are astonishing.

The Examination and The Washington Post analyzed more than 6,000 social media posts by 68 registered dietitians with at least 10,000 followers. The analysis showed that roughly 40 percent of these influencers, with a combined reach of over 9 million followers, repeatedly used anti-diet language.

The majority of the influencers who used anti-diet language also were paid to promote products from food, beverage and supplement companies, the analysis found.

Bro, we got people getting paid by Big Food corporations to sponsor unhealthy foods as part of an anti-diet, body positivity movement.

This is beyond ludicrous. Like, it kinda makes me mad.

Take a look at our obesity numbers, because, to me, this whole body positivity movement is only there to increase obesity in our country and make us even more weak than we already are.

Since the 1980s, the U.S. obesity rate has more than doubled, according to federal data. Nearly half a million Americans die early each year as a result of excess body weight, according to estimates in a 2022 Lancet study.

The statistics tell us that 40% of American adults are obese. Unsettling, to say the least.

And now we've got General Mills pushing more obesity on us in the name of "body positivity"??

Amy Cohn, General Mills' senior manager for nutrition and external affairs, promoted the cereal company's anti-diet messaging to a room of registered dietitians at a national food conference last fall. Cohn denounced the media for "pointing the finger at processed foods" and making consumers feel ashamed of their choices.

"You can help derail the cycle of shame," Cohn told the dietitians …

At least 10 registered dietitians promoted General Mills' cereals in TikTok and Instagram posts last year, using the slogan #DerailTheShame while tagging the company in their posts. In some posts, dietitians show off personalized Cheerios boxes adorned with their names while they denounce "food shaming" of ready-to-eat cereals.

What I'm doing right now, showing you corporations who encourage obesity when obesity is at an all-time high, was once a liberal's job.

Liberals are the ones who were at one time the protectors of the people — the ones who cared about the little guy (pun intended). But now liberals are more than happy that the corporations are pushing obesity on us because through their cult they've come to learn that obesity is good and that a fit body is bad.

Make it make sense!


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