A Single-Session Digital Diet Culture Intervention: A Case Series Examining Immediate Impacts on Eating Disorder...

Diet culture refers to the ubiquitous sociocultural system which conflates bodyweight with health, perpetuates myths about food and eating, and upholds a moral hierarchy of bodies derived from patriarchal, racist, and capitalist forms of domination. Diet culture promotes a hierarchy of bodies and weight-based moralism that can contribute to anti-fat bias and the development of eating disorders (EDs). Despite growing recognition of these harms, accessible interventions targeting diet culture beliefs remain limited. In this study, we evaluated a brief, single-session digital mental health intervention (DMHI) designed to challenge diet culture beliefs (e.g., fat = unhealthy).

A sample of 455 cisgender women (M _age = 32.6) completed the DMHI, which included psychoeducation and cognitive restructuring techniques aimed at disrupting weight stigma and misinformation about weight and health. Of the 455 participants enrolled, between 284 and 296 completed post-intervention measures depending on the outcome. Attrition analyses indicated no significant baseline differences between completers and non-completers on ED pathology or weight stigma variables; the only exception was the interpersonal relationships subscale of fat acceptance, where non-completers reported slightly lower baseline scores. Pre- and post-intervention assessments measured ED pathology, fat acceptance, and anticipated weight stigma.

We found increased fat-accepting health beliefs and decreased fear of weight stigma and ED symptoms, specifically fear of weight gain, following the intervention. However, interpersonal respect for fat individuals slightly decreased, and fat activism showed limited improvement, suggesting that certain components of fat acceptance may require more sustained or relational formats.

These findings highlight the potential of DMHIs to shift belief systems related to diet culture and ED risk, particularly as scalable, low-barrier tools for prevention and early intervention. Future work should examine the durability of effects and test enhancements targeting activism and interpersonal change. Hypotheses, variables, and analyses were pre-registered at https://osf.io/27ym3.