Women hush up diets over ‘fat-shaming’ fear

A GROWING number of young women are keeping their dieting secret for fear of being labelled ‘anti-feminist’, with more than a quarter of those aged 18 to 34 who are trying to shed weight staying silent about their efforts.

And even more young women said they sometimes feel guilty about wanting to drop a dress size, because of the so-called ‘body positivity’ movement, researchers found.

By comparison, only one per cent of those over 65 said they were concerned about being seen as antifeminist for wanting to lose weight.

Advocates of body positivity say there is nothing wrong with being overweight or obese, and claim society is prejudiced against ‘people of size’. They say to diet is to accept the social norm that equates thinness with beauty. The internet is awash with people patrolling social media sites, ‘calling out’ dieters for losing weight.

After singer Adele, 31, was pictured in the Caribbean earlier this month having reportedly shed 7st, she was pilloried online for looking ‘unhealthy’. Many compared glamorous pictures of her in the past, often taken during appearances where she was wearing make-up, with the recent snaps of her on the beach in Anguilla.

One wrote: ‘Adele doesn’t look healthy and I would bet money she has an eating disorder.

‘Not even trying to be rude I just think y’all should stop praising any kind of weight loss.’

About two- thirds of adults in England are now overweight or obese, according to official statistics, including nearly 40 per cent of 16- to- 24- year- olds. Studies show that the longer a person is seriously overweight, the more likely they are to suffer from illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

Men are actually slightly more likely than women to be carrying too many pounds.

While 67 per cent of men are either overweight or obese, the figure is 62 per cent for women. When it comes to simply being ‘ overweight’, 40 per cent of men fall into the category, against just 31 per cent of women.

But for being obese, women lead the way, with 30 per cent, against just 27 per cent for men.

SlimFast’s poll suggests nearly seven million women, out of the 17 million likely to attempt a diet this year, will try to hide their health kick from at least one person.