Family Arguments About Food Can Be Destructive
Political interventions to combat obesity tend to focus on structural issues such as food deserts, time poverty, and insufficient junk-food labeling, but confronting how food makes us feel is just as important. Food can be joyful and comforting—but also a source of guilt and self-hatred. And because eating is often a shared activity, our consumption becomes interwoven with the dynamics of our families. If anyone understands why discussing our weight with our loved ones can be such a toxic brew of shame, resentment, and frustration, it’s the van Tullekens.
‘The Revelation Was That I Was the Problem’
A doctor nagged his twin brother to lose weight—but family arguments about food can be destructive… MORE