A Dietitian's Take On The Sydney Sweeney American Eagle Ad

We’ve all heard of the highly controversial American Eagle ad featuring Sydney Sweeney. Now we are starting to notice more social medica accounts and news outlets talk about how this ad is also problematic because glorifies thinness and makes those in larger bodies feel marginalized.

As a dietitian group in NYC, primarily specializing in disordered eating and body image healing, our perspective is that two things can be true at the same time: we can see this ad as creative, fun and beautiful while also understanding how this can be offensive and triggering.

The media is a huge source of body comparison and body woes - whenever we see a celebrity or model in a smaller body smeared across our TV, phones or billboards it can insidiously chip away at our self-esteem.

If this is something you pesonally struggle with on a regular basis, it’s a signal that more work is needed on your own self-worth. No one has consistently great body image - highs and lows are normal and expected. But if it’s severe enough that it’s affecting your mental and physical health, and quality of life, we urge you to seek professional support such as a dietitian and therapist team.

Here is how a dietitian can help you with body image issues:

1. Separate Health from Appearance

  • Reframe goals from weight-centric (e.g., “I need to be thinner”) to health-centric (e.g., “I want to feel more energized or improve my digestion”).

  • Educate on body diversity, emphasizing that health does not look the same on everyone.

2. Correct Nutrition Misinformation

  • Body image issues are often fueled by diet culture and false beliefs about food.

  • Dietitians can debunk myths (e.g., carbs are bad, or weight loss = health) and provide science-based information.

3. Support Intuitive Eating

  • They can guide clients through principles of intuitive eating: listening to hunger/fullness cues, honoring cravings, and rejecting the diet mentality.

  • This helps rebuild trust in the body and reduces guilt or shame around food.

4. Normalize Eating Patterns

  • Help establish consistent, balanced meals that support physical and mental well-being.

  • Reduce chaotic eating patterns (bingeing, restricting, emotional eating), which often worsen body image.

5. Collaborate with Mental Health Professionals

  • A dietitian often works as part of a team (with a therapist, psychologist, or doctor) in treating eating disorders or disordered eating.

  • They help address the food and body side while the therapist works on underlying emotional or psychological concerns.

6. Promote Body Respect

  • Teach clients how to care for their body at any size, rather than trying to change it through punishment or restriction.

  • Encourage behaviors like gentle nutrition, joyful movement, and self-care that foster a better body relationship.

7. Offer a Safe Space

  • A non-judgmental, weight-neutral dietitian can provide a safe space to talk about body struggles, food guilt, and fears, without shame or pressure to lose weight.

Summary:

A dietitian won’t “fix” body image alone — that often requires mental health support too — but they play a key role in healing the relationship with food and the body, especially when body image is tied to eating behaviors or weight concerns.

Would you like help working with a dietitian? Click link below

Lisa Moskovitz