126 Dieting
dieting as a means for permanent weight control” ( p. 9). Likewise, the books
Dieting Makes You Fatby Cannon and Einzig and Breaking the Diet Habit
by Polivy and Herman were published in 1983. But it was not until the
1990s that the backlash gained momentum, and organizations such as Diet
Breakers were set up, books praising the joys of being overweight were
written, and magazines published articles about “alternatives to dieting.”
For example, Smith (1993) offered her book Fibreneticsas a way to “finally
kick the whole concept of dieting out of the window” ( p. 12), and programs
to encourage “undieting” were established by researchers and educationalists
such as Polivy, Herman, and Cileska (e.g., Polivy and Herman, 1992).
Particularly in the US and UK, people became skeptical about the value of
dieting, and “to be on a diet” became tainted with a sense of conformity.
However, this did not stop women dieting. Euphemisms such as healthy
eating, a healthy lifestyle, and a good diettook over, and books were published
which while offering themselves as an alternative to dieting still marketed
weight loss as their goal. Women (and some men) still tried to eat less and
differently as a means to lose weight and change their body shape. But for
some this took on a different name. The dieting industry still plays a central
role in causing body dissatisfaction and then offers dieting as the solution.
In summary, body dissatisfaction leads to a desire to change the body’s
size and shape. But rather than using the tricks of the past such as corsets
and breast-binding, since the 1960s those dissatisfied individuals have
turned to dieting to change the body itself. The dieting industry facilitates
the translation of body dissatisfaction into dieting first by perpetuating the
belief that thinness is the desirable shape and then by promoting the belief
that body size can be changed. The industry also promotes and expands
the need for the dieting industry by offering its product not only to those
who are overweight, but also to all those who just think they are overweight.
This transition from body dissatisfaction to dieting illustrates a central role
for control.
The central role for controlThe previous chapter examined the development of body dissatisfaction
and highlighted a role for a range of beliefs. Specifically, it outlined beliefs
relating to materialism, competitiveness, achievement, autonomy, the role
of women, and a projected relationship between mother and daughter as
influencing the development of body dissatisfaction. These beliefs have one
thing in common. They are based on the assumption that the object of