British actress, activist, podcaster, and TV host Jameela Jamil took to her Instagram on April 16 to share her experience with “diet culture” and how it impacted her health.
“Yesterday I got the results from my bone density scan. I have been in a lot of pain lately and it turns out 20 years of dieting has hurt my bone density… In my 30s. Please, please, please do not let diet culture drag you to where I am,” her lengthy statement mentioned.
In an accompanying caption, Jameela Jamil also apologized to her “body,” writing “I did this to you.”
Jameela Jamil urges everyone to not fall victim to diet culture in latest social media post
On Tuesday’s Instagram post, Jameela Jamil made a “desperate plea” to her followers not to “end up like me” and explained how dieting for nearly two decades hurt her “bony density” at the age of 38.
“I know people think I’m annoying for going on and on about the harm of not eating enough, but no compliment I have ever received is worth the pain and regret of what happens to your body when you do extreme things for fast results,” she explained.
The Good Place star added how her “passion against diet culture” has been born of something “that is not Holier than thou.” She continued her statement via a lengthy caption, saying there should be equal conversations about “the long-term impact of eating too little” as much as there is about “the dangers of eating too much.”
“I’m so sorry to my body. I’m so embarrassed that I did this to you. You tried to keep me alive and I tried to kill you. I will spend the rest of my life fixing you and trying to stop others from hurting their bodies,” she wrote.
The former The Official Chart host explained that celebrities like herself have the “money for the tests that detect the horrific side effects of extreme dieting,” but that was not true for others who simply emulated “celebrity bodies and eating practices."
“The reason I get so mad when celebrities push these ideals is because… If they mess up their bodies there is a team of experts ready to patch them up. Most do not have that luxury. And nobody talks about it. F*** diet culture.”
Jameela Jamil has been a long-time advocate for body positivity and wellness and previously spoke about being diagnosed with anorexia as a teenager. She has also condemned celebrity diet culture before.
In August 2019, during an interview with the Sunday Times, Jameela Jamil even stated how she did not keep in touch with her parents as they were “incredibly fatphobic.”
“Jutting hip bones were seen as a sign of peak brilliance both at home and at school. It didn’t matter that I did well academically or was a good swimmer. All I thought was important about me was that my jeans hung off my hip bones,” she explained back then.
Before that, she criticized the Kardashians, rapper Cardi B, and other celebrities for promoting diet suppressants on social media. In 2019, she even started her own petition on Change.org titled, “Stop celebrities promoting toxic diet products on social media.”
In 2018, Jameela Jamil founded the Instagram community @i_weigh, inspired by the Kardashian-Jenner sisters who often detailed their individual weight online. The account, which promotes “radical inclusivity,” encourages people to come forward and share their unedited images using the hashtag #iweigh and continue about things they are proud of or grateful for.