"Beach Body", "Bikini Body", and Other Fake Terms Created to Sell Products
- jesskelly
- Jun 12
- 2 min read
With June underway, and summer entering it's full swing for so many Americans, as dietitians we've got to make something clear: there is no such thing as a "beach body" or "bikini body".
These terms were not made with health or wellness in mind, in fact they were created over fifty years ago in order to sell products. Genuinely, these terms have no basis in health, science, or any valid methodology.
They're terms that unscrupulous advertisers used to sell their products by any means, and their damage continues to ripple through time to the present day. Before we delve into the history of these insidious phrases, let's start with the truth.
The Beach Is for Every Body
Documents throughout history talk about the therapeutic and healing qualities of time spent on the sand and in the surf. Finding rejuvenation in soaking up the sun, saltwater, and ocean breeze is a natural part of the human condition.
Even if most of the time you spend at the beach is under an umbrella, in a lounger with some of your favorite guilty pleasure reads, enjoying the beach is for everybody, and body. There's no such thing as a "beach body", every body is designed to enjoy the beach.
A "Bikini Body" Was Always About Sales
The term "bikini body" started appearing in the early 1960s from an ad campaign by a company called Slenderella International. As you could've guessed from the name, Slenderella International specialized in a salon style weight loss fad services like full body wraps, vibrating tables, and other "no effort" fat loss solutions that could get women "slender for summer!".
While for legal reasons we won't explicitly say this was all largely a lie, what we will say is that Slenderella International did not base their "slender for summer" advertisements on any legitimate nutritional science.
What It Should Mean to Prepare Your Body for Summer
The cyclical and ineffective practice of ramping up diet or exercise "for summer" and then falling out of your rhythm into the winter and holidays is exactly the type and up-and-down weight rollercoaster that discourages people and ultimately leads to further negative health outcomes.
When you think of getting ready for summer, or getting your body "summer ready" try to think of it in more practical and helpful ways like:
Increasing Your Water Intake (Especially When in the Heat)
Acclimatizing to High Temperatures
Making sure you have comfortable, and lightweight clothing for exercise
Putting on sunscreen prior to sun exposure
These actions alone will do more to protect your health and wellness in the summer than crash diets and boot-camp exercise programs will do. Some of which can be dangerous when combined with rising temperatures and humidity.
Summer Health Goals
Summer can be a great time for new health goals. For many people, the season's additional sunlight, and warmer temperatures make incorporating exercise and new health goals feel much more attainable.
It's a good time of year to start so that you can establish more of your behaviors, habits, and eating patterns before the winter. If you're interested in having a dietitian help you establish your health goals for the summer Nutrition That Heals would love the chance to work with you.
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