Slimming World boasts a significant popularity, with 900,000 members attending groups across the nation on a weekly basis. The website and magazines voice successful weight loss stories. Slimming World is certainly having an impact because the NHS refers overweight patients to their groups. The organisation’s ethos is based on members having free choice so that they can diet without any guilt. However, this has come under fire for having the exact opposite effect.
How Does the Slimming World Diet Work?
The Slimming World diet programme promotes ‘Food Optimising’. It’s a basic concept whereby dieters need to take in less calories than they use. Overall calorie reduction is accomplished by eating foods that are lower in calories but high in nutrients. These foods include: pasta, rice, lean protein and fruit and vegetables. It seems like the general basis of healthy eating, but Slimming World states to dieters that these foods are known as ‘free’ and the amount that members can consume is unlimited. Nevertheless, calorie packed food with little to no nutrition are heavily restricted. Biscuits, sweets, fast food and alcohol are examples of such foods, also known as ‘syns’.
Free is Good, Syns are Bad
Although the diet plan contains simple measures to eat healthily, it has come under fire for potentially causing feelings of food guilt and anxiety. The use of the words ‘free’ and ‘syn’ is said to be damaging to consumer relationships with food. Not only that, the syn allowance of 5 – 15 per day is an impossibly strict way of living.
Though the Slimming World diet plan appears to have sound reasoning behind its structure. The name ‘syn’ originates from the ‘synergy’ that links all of the components of the diet plan. Despite this, it is the apparent labelling of food as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ where the problem lies. Consumer relationships with food can be easily damaged, leading to obsessive behaviour regarding eating patterns. In more extreme cases, such examples of obsessive behaviour can be witnessed in individuals who have eating disorders. There is a worry that dieting programmes can cause further damage to people who already have low perceptions of themselves.
Teaching Bad Habits
Slimming World’s diet programmes are certainly successful and popular; however, their structure and word choices may lead to negative behaviours surrounding food. The strict rules may work for some, but they are at risk of misinforming consumers. Labelling food as ‘bad’ can lead to massive feelings of guilt when they are consumed. Although the points system involved with syns teaches consumption in moderation, the free reign with foods that are deemed acceptable still doesn’t teach dieters about portion control. As a result, there is also the risk of dieters turning back to old eating habits.
Consumers need to be more aware when undertaking such diets. Indeed, the idea of not being restrictive with most foods sounds appealing, it can lead to a sense of false hope because there isn’t any real development for the dieter. Furthermore, the categorising of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods is actually very restrictive and can negatively impact consumer relationships with food, that have already been made fragile by the diet industry.
