Have you noticed how food content has suddenly taken over social media? Influencers who once shared makeup routines or skincare tips are now posting about food and sharing cooking videos. Why the shift? Because a starved brain becomes preoccupied with food and influencers are making money off views.

You might be thinking, “But I’m eating, so I can’t be starving.” The truth is that dieting has deeply warped our sense of what enough food actually looks like. If your parents took you to Weight Watchers or put you on Jenny Craig (I’m so sorry), or you followed the 1200/1500/1800/2000 calorie trends, cut carbs, intermittent fasted, or regularly skipped meals, your internal sense of adequate intake has likely been skewed. There’s a strong chance your body has spent long periods of time in semi-starvation, and/or you’ve experienced catch-up (binge) eating at the end of the day.

We’re constantly sold the lie that losing weight automatically leads to better health, which makes dieting seem healthy. But many diets push you into a semi-starved state. And while you’re told the weight you’re losing is mostly fat, that’s only part of the story. Your body also needs glucose and fat for energy and protein to repair the 36 trillion cells that keep you alive. Unlike fat, you only store roughly 12-hours’ worth of glucose, and protein isn’t stored at all, it is your body, your skin, hair, muscles, blood, bone, and organs. When energy intake is restricted, your body is forced to break down its own tissues - using adipose tissue for fat and breaking down your body’s tissues for protein and to produce glucose. During semi-starvation, you’re breaking down approximately 40g of adipose tissue and 37g of body tissue daily. Lean muscle mass is the first to be sacrificed, your liver and intestines show large losses, and over time, that includes your heart muscle.

This is also why weight regain (often plus some) is so common when dieting stops, your body needs to trust that there is enough energy (fat) to rebuild the tissue (muscle mass) it lost.

Diet culture doesn’t care about your health. As long as you dislike your body, someone is profiting. Ever wondered why women are the most affected? Because women are responsible for up to 80% of consumer spending. You weren’t born hating your body, you were taught to. It truly is the perfect scam, as long as you’re taught to hate your body, you’ll be spending money trying to “fix it”. You can’t “fix” what was never broken to begin with.

Manufacturing the OBes*ty Epidemic

They’ve also done an exceptional job linking weight to health by manufacturing the so called “obes*ty epidemic.” In 1995, Professor Philip James established the International Obes*ty Task Force (IOTF), a group that prepared the first scientific report on rising global “obes*ty” rates and proposed health policy responses for how the “problem” could be addressed. From the outset, the IOTF’s explicit goal was to persuade the World Health Organisation (WHO) to hold a special consultation on “obes*ty”. In 1997, the IOTF report would serve the basis for the first WHO expert consultation on obes*ty held in Geneva. The evidence they presented showed increased mortality at BMI values below 18.5kg/m2 and above 30kg/m2. However, the decision to set the “overwe*ght” cut-off at 25kg/m2 was largely on a visual inspection of the BMI-mortality curve rather than a precise scientific threshold. Overnight, the overwe*ght threshold shifted from a BMI of 27 to 25. One day you would have been in a “healthy” BMI category and the next you were classified as “overwe*ght”.

Most importantly, the IOTF was largely funded by two pharmaceutical companies Roche and Abbott, which provided around two-thirds of its total budget. Roche produced the antiobes*ty drug orlistat (Xenical), while Abbott manufactured sibutramine (Reductil), which was largely withdrawn from the Australian market in 2010 due to increased risks of serious cardiac events, including heart attack and stroke. Orlistat just stops your body from absorbing fat, which in turn gives you severe diarrhoea if you consume fat.

The Biology of Human Starvation

Most of what we understand about semi-starvation comes from Ancel Keys’ work, The Biology of Human Starvation, often referred to as the Minnesota Starvation Study. It was an extremely well-controlled experiment, one that would not be considered ethical to carry out today.

The Minnesota Starvation Study ran from 19 November 1944 to 20 October 1945, concluding near the end of World War II. Participants lived in the Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene under continuous 24-hour supervision.

The study involved 32 men, all conscientious objectors aged 20 to 33 years, weighing between 62 and 83.6 kg. Each had at least one year of college education, and 18 already held degrees. All participants were in good physical health, with no major medical conditions or physical disabilities, and were able to undertake demanding physical work. Their psychological profiles indicated they could cooperate fully with minimal supervision, get along well with others, and commit to the study’s aims, which included an interest in relief and rehabilitation efforts.

Study Timeline

12-week control period
24 weeks of semi-starvation
12 weeks of restricted rehabilitation
8 additional weeks of unrestricted rehabilitation for 12 of the participants
Follow-up assessments at 8 and 12 months post-starvation for over half the group

The researchers found that a 15–20% reduction in energy intake was enough for men to begin exhibiting psychological symptoms of semi-starvation.

Special Project Job

The men were assigned to a specific job according to their training, abilities and desires that required about 15 hours a week. Jobs included general maintenance of the laboratory and living quarters, laundry, laboratory assistance, shop duties, clerical and statistical work. Project work suffered the most neglect during the last month of semi-starvation.

Physical Activity Program

The men were required to follow a physical activity program that included 35 km of walking per week plus 30 minutes on a treadmill. This routine was upheld until later in the semi-starvation phase, when severe fatigue and apathy made adherence increasingly difficult. However, the treadmill walks were completed by every participant throughout the experiment.

Educational Program

An extensive educational program—around 25 hours per week—was provided as part of the study. Participation remained high until the final month of semi-starvation, when most men withdrew due to declining mental and physical capacity. Only one participant was able to complete the coursework required for a master’s degree during this period.

Sexual Differences

Although conducted with men, the researchers reported on an observational study where in a number of women only small losses in body weight could trigger significant drops in metabolism.

Signs of Semi-Starvation

Your body will use every tool it has to conserve energy and push you toward food when it’s not getting enough.

Physical	Psychological	Food Behaviours
Metabolic rate decreases by ~40% Loss of strength and weakness Muscle cramps and nerve tingles Interrupted sleep Tiredness and fatigue Hyperactivity and euphoria Increased hunger Gastrointestinal discomfort Bloating and abdominal discomfort Diarrhoea Constipation Thin, dry hair and hair loss Pale, cold, dry, rough skin Interrupted sleep Cold hands and feet Lowered immunity Getting a cold or flu more frequently Reduced sperm motility Reduced teste size Reduced size of the ovaries Loss of menstrual periods Decreased libido Osteoporosis Diminished saliva Cavities Tooth loss Palpitations Low blood pressure Heart attack Death	Social withdrawal and isolation Reduced sex drive Mood swings Declining motivation Irritability Impaired concentration Outbursts of anger Depression Sensitivity to noise Unable to do things they want to do Outbursts of anger More serious and sarcastic and less humour Denial of symptoms and severity	Increased interest in food Food is the central topic of conversation Food fads Collecting recipes Studying menus Thinking about meal times More possessive about food Eating slowly Anger if food is being wasted Playing with food Licking plates and eating all crumbs Planning the days eating Internal conflict between storing food and ravenously eating it Increased gum chewing, tea and coffee drinking, smoking and nail biting

Working With a Non-Diet Dietitian

Emma can support you to:

Explore your dieting history and your relationship with food and your body
Discover the weight range where your body feels comfortable and healthy
Build a more balanced, positive relationship with food
End the cycle of undereating and overeating
Challenge food rules, nutrition myths, and influencer misinformation
Reconnect with your body’s natural signals of hunger, fullness, and satisfaction
Create satisfying meals and snacks that support your body’s physiology
Unlearn dieting and disordered eating patterns, and relearn flexible, normal eating habits
Explore options for finding movement that feels enjoyable and sustainable