Promotion of anorexia on TikTok harms women's body image. Don't watch them.

A few minutes of visiting TikTok and watching videos that promote anorexia (pro-anorexia) can lead to women being dissatisfied with their bodies. In short, they have a less optimistic viewpoint about their bodies when watching videos by people who make content about restricting food intake and sharing weight loss tips.

HELPFUL NOTE: PLEASE DON'T WATCH THESE VIDEOS. THEY ARE DANGEROUS. DON'T GET SUCKED INTO WATCHING THEM. BE YOURSELF AND DO YOUR BEST TO MAINTAIN AN OBJECTIVE MIND ABOUT YOUR BODY. COMPARE IT TO GOOD GUIDES PROVIDED BY MEDICAL EXPERTS.

A preliminary to anorexia nervosa might be and probably often is 'orthorexia nervosa': a proposed eating disorder characterized by an excessive preoccupation with eating healthy food.

Study finds pro-anexoria content on TikTok can quickly harm women’s body image by Michael Broad

These are pro-anorexia videos. The research on this comes from Madison Blackburn and Rachel Hogg at Charles Sturt University in Australia. Their project is reported in the online journal PLOS ONE. Link: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0307597

The researchers concluded that their results underscore the need for new controls on content that glamorises starvation diets and very thin physiques.

"This research has implications for the mental health of young female TikTok users, with exposure to pro-anorexia content having immediate consequences for internalisation and body image dissatisfaction, potentially increasing one’s risk of developing disordered eating beliefs and behaviours."

The study involved 270 female participants aged between 18 and 28. They completed questionnaires and how satisfied they were with their bodies after watching TikTok videos.

A section of them watched videos featuring pro-anorexia content while another section, acting as a control group, were shown videos about nature, cooking, comedy and animals.

Both groups reported a decrease in body image satisfaction interestingly but those that were exposed to the pro-anorexia content experienced a significantly larger decline in body image satisfaction.

"Our study showed that less than 10 minutes of exposure to implicit and explicit pro-anorexia TikTok content had immediate negative consequences, suggesting psychological harm can occur for young female TikTok users even when explicit pro-anorexia content is not sort out."

Tom Quinn, director of external affairs at the British eating disorder charity Beat, said: "Unfortunately there is a great deal of harmful content shared on social media platforms, most often circulated by those who are unwell themselves."

He added that it is time for tech companies to act by "ensuring that pro-eating disorder content isn't promoted in their algorithms, preventing irresponsible content from being uploaded to begin with, and making it easier for users to report and block any videos they might come across."

In response, TikTok said that its community guidelines do not allow the showing or promotion of disordered eating and/or dangerous weight loss behaviours. They also ban the facilitation of the trade or marketing of weight loss or muscle gain products.

Comment: TikTok's response is typical of social media companies. They know the problem. It is that they simply can't enforce their policies because there's too much uploaded content on a daily basis. They don't have the manpower to administer their website properly to a rigorous standard. This allows pro-anorexia content to be uploaded and remain on their website for a long time. No doubt they delete some and no doubt they'd bar some individuals from uploading this kind of content but far too much gets through where it is viewed by vulnerable women further fostering and encouraging poor body image which can cause anorexia and mental health issues of other kinds such as depression and anxiety.

Pro-anexoria as per AI research

Let me explain about pro-anorexia (says AI) , but I must stress that its beliefs go against medical facts and can seriously endanger health:

Pro-anorexia, sometimes called ana pride, refers to communities and mindsets that promote anorexia as a lifestyle choice rather than a serious mental illness. They make light of harmful behaviors and even encourage weight loss competition or "thinspiration." While those affected may view it as empowering, scientifically it undermines recovery.

Certain online forums used to share tips for concealing/maintaining anorexia from others were labeled pro-ana. They touted disordered eating as glamorous or rebellious. Though some sites have since closed, remnants of this mentality still exist online and offline.

Pro-ana beliefs argue weight is purely cosmetic and willful starvation proves self-discipline. However, modern research conclusively shows eating disorders are biologically rooted illnesses. Severe calorie/nutrient deprivation harms the brain, heart, bones and every organ system. It seriously shortens life expectancy long term.

Internalizing pro-ana attitudes can increase social isolation for those struggling. Sufferers may avoid help due to feeling their illness is a lifestyle/identity rather than a medical problem. However, without a multidisciplinary treatment plan supervised by credentialed experts, full recovery is highly unlikely.

While some involved in pro-ana communities feel empowered choosing their own path, the ugly truth is that disordered eating habits rob autonomy through addictive food/body preoccupations over time. For whatever reason people develop eating disorders, promoting and glamorizing harmful behaviors around them can have tragic consequences.

I hope this breakdown provided clarity on why medical professionals fully denounce pro-ana beliefs/mindsets as unhealthy and unfounded. My role is to share science-based facts, not condone putting lives at serious risk through medically disproven ideologies. Let me know if any part needs further explanation!

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.