Behind the Scenes of Two Recent Media Interviews: Playing the Role of Stereotypical Dietitian

Recently I was featured in Avenue Magazine as part of their Fresh Start feature in the Jan/Feb 2023 issue, and in a short news clip on CityNews. While the subjects of the two interviews were completely different, my experiences of both interviews were similar in that it seemed like the journalists already had an idea of what they wanted * the dietitian * to say, regardless of what my actual answers were going to be.

Who is * the Dietitian *?

Often when people think of the word “dietitian,” they envision a thin, white/white-adjacent woman (often in a lab coat) whose job is to get everyone to eat the “healthiest,” “cleanest” diet possible. This “stereotypical” dietitian knows all the secrets to maximizing nutrients while minimizing calories (aka “healthy” weight loss), and their eating habits and body size are thought to reflect this. While the “stereotypical” dietitian is considered knowledgeable when it comes to nutrition, health, and weight, they are also seen as a little out-of-touch when it comes to how people actually eat.

This narrative is often reinforced in conventional and social media alike. In conventional media, dietitians are often called upon to comment on the latest study about nutrition or weight, provide strategies for stretching the grocery budget, or tsk the latest fad diet while sharing “evidence-based” tips. On social media, dietitian influencers can make their entire income from hawking the latest “wellness” (gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, joy-free) food products.

How this played out in the two interviews

The Avenue Magazine article was a small call-out box in a larger feature with several articles with the theme of a “fresh start” for the new year. There was a one-page article on fitness, so I’m assuming they thought they also needed to talk about diet, particularly in the context of weight loss. I was asked four questions via email, including “How is portion size an important factor when it comes to eating healthy?” and “What are some of the best snack foods for people looking to maintain a healthy weight?” I’m sure they had expected straightforward answers about how smaller portions means fewer calories, along with a list of low-calorie but filling snacks. Instead, I ended up emailing back answers about how portion size is not important, and that what we consider “healthy weight” is dictated by anti-fat bias.

A few weeks later, a fact-checker emailed me to review what was written in the article, and somehow my answers were interpreted to mean that focusing solely on weight can “negatively impact results.” After some back-and-forth, they were able to have that sentence removed, but overall I feel like the article says a lot without really saying anything.

The reporter for the CityNews interview told me that the story (on whether protein powder is a suitable replacement for meat) was inspired by a thread in a Facebook group. Immediately she was interested in discussing what nutrients were “missing” from protein powder compared to meat. I noted that while it’s true that protein powder does not have the same nutrient content as meat, what was more important to me was that it didn’t seem like a practical swap because a protein shake simply isn’t as satisfying as a meal. I even said it twice, and neither of those times made it in the less-than-2-minute clip. The way that it was edited, it made me seem like my main concern was just the nutrients.

I wish there was room for the dietitian I want to be

I’m not interested in policing food, eating habits, bodies, or health. I’m not interested in calculating a person’s nutrient needs down to the last milligram (especially when those calculations are often based on assumptions that aren’t necessarily true.) I’m not interested in colluding with systems of oppression that have conditioned us to believe that there is a “right” way of eating or being (unless that is the best/safest option for someone.)

I am interested in untangling why we interact with food and our bodies in the ways that we do, as individuals and as larger communities and societies. I’m interested in exploring what it might look like if “health” wasn’t the be-all, end-all. I’m interested in appreciating food for all the reasons—taste, texture, colour, culture, novelty, where it comes from, and so on. I’m interested in making eating approachable and realistic. I’m interested in how our food choices and eating habits can help us move toward our goals (health and otherwise), and also hold space for when it actually doesn’t.

Are these things that interest you, too? If so, perhaps we can work together.