Derailing the Food and Fitness Shame Cycle
To fully capture insights from the target audiences, we carried out a mixed-methods approach to this study, including an online survey with a national sample of American adults ages 18+, an online survey among registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) and fitness professionals (FPs), and one-on-one in-depth virtual interviews (IDIs) with consumers, RDNs, and FPs. By marrying the results of these methods, we could quantify and compare findings as well as provide rich context around stakeholder sentiments.
These approaches identified consumer journeys with nutrition and fitness which includes a cycle of shame, guilt, and isolation that is both self-induced and fed by societal forces. The research also revealed how RDNs and FPs currently play a part in the shame cycle and how they can be key change agents in helping combat and break the cycle. Findings from the research were rolled out to the nation’s top nutrition communicators at a food and nutrition thought-leadership conference and impacted how they address shaming with their followers.
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