Addressing Restrictive Eating Cultures in Schools

Last Updated on September 30, 2025 | Published: September 30, 2025 published by Jenny Tomei

Restrictive eating is becoming a common issue in schools, and it need to be targeted. Some of the most powerful lessons in school are not taught in classrooms or written in textbooks. They happen at the lunch table, in the changing rooms, or in the quiet comments made without much thought.

A student might skip their sandwich because they are worried someone will laugh at them, while another tugs at their uniform, wishing they looked different.

A teacher might praise a child for “being good” with a salad, not realising that such words can linger long after the meal is over.

None of this is written into school rules, yet it shapes the way young people feel about food, their bodies, and themselves.

What Is Restrictive Eating Culture?

Restrictive eating culture is not always easy to spot, because it rarely shouts; it whispers. It grows from the small, repeated moments that make students believe there are strict rules about what and how they should eat.

Thinness becomes the unspoken ideal, eating less is treated as a sign of willpower, and foods are quietly divided into those that are “good” and those that are “bad.”

When young people take in these messages again and again, eating stops being something simple or enjoyable. Instead, it becomes a source of stress, where every bite feels like it carries judgement about their worth.

How It Shows Up in Schools?

This culture quietly takes root in the ordinary routines of school life, where at lunchtime some students push food around their plate to avoid attention, while others choose meals they do not even like, hoping their choices will be seen as “healthy enough.”

The pressure doesn’t only come from classmates; it can also appear in the words of adults who never intend harm. A teacher saying that PE is about “burning off” food, or praising a student for eating lightly, may think they are encouraging healthy habits, but those words often weigh heavily on young minds.

Around the building, posters that label food as “good” or “bad” and uniforms that make students more aware of their bodies than their learning quietly add to the same message. Even health lessons, if they lean too much on weight rather than balance, can make students feel judged instead of supported.

Why It’s Harmful for Students?

Students may begin to feel anxious about eating in front of others, guilty about their food choices, or ashamed of their bodies.

These feelings can steal their focus in class, hold them back from joining activities, and distance them from friends. For some, the pressure becomes the early signs of an eating disorder; for others, it lingers as a constant stress that makes school feel heavier than it should.

Instead of food being a source of energy for learning and play, it becomes something young people fear or try to control. In a place that should help them grow, restrictive eating culture quietly teaches them to shrink.

How Schools May Be Adding to the Problem?

Most schools never set out to create pressure around food or bodies, yet some of the systems in place can unintentionally make things worse. Health checks that focus on BMI, for example, can leave students believing that their weight is the most important measure of their health, even though health is far more complex. Lessons about nutrition, when taught with too much focus on calories or body size, can shift the message from balance and nourishment to guilt and restriction.

Even the way a canteen is run can add to the stress: long queues, rushed mealtimes, or food choices presented with labels of “good” and “bad” all shape how eating feels at school. These policies are usually introduced with good intentions, but the hidden message they send is that food and bodies are something to monitor and control, rather than to enjoy and care for.

What Schools Can Do Differently?

Schools have the power to change this culture for the better.

By shifting the focus from weight to wellbeing, schools can create safer, more supportive environments.

How schools can do this:

Use positive, non-judgmental language about food and bodies.
Teach health as holistic (physical, mental, social), not just “weight = health.”
Make PE inclusive and fun, focusing on enjoyment and skills.
Promote food as fuel, not reward or punishment.
Train staff to spot and respond to disordered eating.
Involve parents with consistent well-being messages.
Display materials that celebrate body diversity and confidence.

To find out more about our workshops/training for schools, click here: http://www.jenup.com/workshops

How to Create a Positive Food and Body Culture?

A positive school culture around food and body image is not about rules or restrictions, it’s about celebration and inclusion.

Show young people that food can be about joy, connection, and energy.
Reinforce that everybody is worthy of respect exactly as it is.

Introduce movement as a way to:
- Explore strength, teamwork, and fun.
- Move away from the idea that exercise is only to “burn off” food.
Use posters, lessons, and assemblies to:
- Highlight the diversity of body shapes and abilities.
- Help students to see themselves reflected and valued.
Most importantly, schools should create spaces where students:
- Feel safe to talk openly about food, body image, and worries.
- They will be met with understanding, not judgment.
When schools nurture this environment:
- Young people can grow in confidence.
- This growth extends beyond studies into their relationship with food, their bodies, and themselves.