Kardashian krash diets are killing their kids' relationships with food
The Kardashian-Jenner clan is no stranger to diet culture. In fact, they are quite well acquainted with it — and they've made a substantial profit off of it.
Between products like Kylie’s waist trainer, Khloe’s weight loss series "Revenge Body," Skims and various makeup and exercise routines, the Kardashians have made multimillions in profit off the back of diet culture. They have successfully capitalized on their curated beauty by convincing the public these products result in the token Kardashian body.
The family of women themselves has bodies that are constantly metamorphosing. We saw Kylie enhance her lips, Khloe completely transform her face and Kim grow an impossibly tiny waist, etc. They have single-handedly created our standards of beauty and pioneered the “slim thick” body type.
All the while, the family denies allegations of plastic surgery procedures — which only enhances the fantasy that a Kardashian body is something attainable for an average person.
As ubiquitous public figures, they teach young impressionable minds that a Kardashian body is something to strive for. They have sent millions of people down the spiral of fad dieting, excessive exercise and more, all to look like a Kardashian.
Recent controversy sparked accusing Kourtney Kardashian of forcing her toxic relationship with food onto her kids. Kourtney, the oldest of the five Kardashian sisters and mother of three, has always had a strong preoccupation with health and wellness as was evident on the hit reality show, "Keeping Up with the Kardashians."
Kourtney currently eats a primarily vegan diet but has gone through phases of different diets, like keto and intermittent fasting. She's also very public about her decision to cut dairy, gluten and sugar from her children’s lives.
In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal to promote her new vitamins, she expressed pride that her oldest son, Mason, claimed that people who let him eat junk food are “bad.” Kourtney explains, “He’s very smart. He’ll tell me, ‘A person was bad because they let me have Cheetos.’”
She explained it’s been more than a year since her children have been to McDonald’s, and she refuses to take them there. When throwing her daughter, Penelope, a Candy Land-themed party, Kourtney refused to supply any junk food or candy. Kourtney herself was quoted on one occasion holding a pink frosted donut and saying, “I can’t eat this, but how exciting is it to smell it.”
Alarmed followers have left messages online expressing their concerns. One user on Reddit explained, “There’s healthy, and there’s obsessive. This is obsessive and a very unhealthy way of thinking to pass on to your kids. It’s about moderation.”
Another agreed, “I was raised in a similar way and today, as an adult, I have the worst self-esteem and relationship with food. :)))))”
One more user added, “And this, ladies, and gentlemen, is exactly how I wound up with a gnarly eating disorder! Thanks mom :)”
Verified sources like Psychology Today advocate a stark opposite attitude to Kourtney's parenting choices. They recommend parents avoid voicing concerns weight, body shape or food around children.
Young children are especially likely to internalize toxic mentalities surrounding food because their scope of influence is limited compared to an older, more independent adolescent or adult. A person’s relationship with food begins in childhood and repairing the damage of years of internalized toxicity about food is extremely difficult, if not impossible.
With eating disorders on the exponential rise affecting at least 9 percent of the global population, people have become more vocal about exposing diet culture for its negative impact. Public decisions like Kourtney's may have been more acceptable in past years but, today, have garnered much backlash, especially where her children are concerned.
