Pinterest Bans Advertisements That Promote Unhealthy Weight Loss And Fad Diets. What A Great Initiative

Pinterest Bans Advertisements That Promote Unhealthy Weight Loss And Fad Diets. What A Great Initiative

Traditional beauty expectations dictate that women must be thin, tall, have long hair and clear skin. Unless we’re talking about Barbie dolls, I don’t know how it’s possible for one person to have all these qualities. But for now, let’s talk about how the concept of weight loss has been romanticized because of these unrealistic expectations, shall we? Most people have got it wrong. Losing weight is not about torturing yourself to appear skinny. It’s more about being healthy and fit. This is what the body positivity movement teaches us and it’s the logic we should adhere to rather than blindly give in to society’s beauty standards. The latest brand to join these ranks is Pinterest.

Body Positivity is accepting that people of all sizes and shapes are equally beautiful. But unfortunately, even though there is awareness, people aren’t willing to look beyond stereotypical beauty standards. Personally, I believe this is because of all the body-shaming that takes place. We are far from accepting that not everyone has a body that can be featured on runways or on magazine covers and that’s okay. However, with social media platforms banning advertisements that promote weight loss and fad diets, we are getting closer and closer.

Pinterest, the popular image-led social media platform announced that it will be banning all advertisements with weight loss language and imagery. This includes fad diets and even ads that idealise or denigrate certain body types. This social media network will not allow advertisements with testimonials about weight loss or weight loss products. Ads that reference body mass index (BMI) or similar indexes will also be prevented. We love this initiative!

Also Read: TikTok Bans Ads That Promote Dieting, Weight Loss Products And Fasting Apps. We Think It’s A Great Step!

In a blog post, the company said, “This stance makes Pinterest the only major platform to prohibit all weight loss ads. It’s an expansion of our ad policies that have long prohibited body shaming and dangerous weight loss products or claims.”

Pinterest will allow advertisements that promote healthy lifestyle habits, fitness regimens and products provided they do not “focus on weight loss”. This new policy has been developed by Pinterest with guidance from the National Eating Disorders Association. In an interview, Sarah Bromma, Pinterest’s head of policy said, “emotional and mental health and wellbeing, especially those directly impacted by eating disorders or diet culture or body shaming”.

Pinterest isn’t the first social media platform to ban such content. Last year, TikTok put a stop to ads that promoted weight loss products and fasting apps. Before that, in 2019, Instagram blocked advertisements promoting weight loss and cosmetic surgery for users that were below the age of 18. We are moving in the right direction, albeit slowly. Hopefully, more platforms will follow in these footsteps and help break away from these unhealthy beauty stereotypes.

Researchers Create A Weight Loss Device That Locks People’s Jaws Shut To Stop Them From Eating. What Nonsense!

Mitali Shah

Read More From Mitali
Seen it all?

We’ve got more!