TikTok perpetuates toxic diet culture, says new research.
Content surrounding nutrition and weight promotes “a toxic diet culture” for teenagers and young people, according to findings from the University of Vermont.
The main takeaway from videos about food videos "unrealistic and inaccurate picture of food, nutrition and health" as well showcasing food as a way to become thinner.
The academics looked at 100 videos from 10 different 10 popular nutrition food and weight-connected tags, which then organised into key themes, which at the start of the study in 2020 had more than one billion views. As the study developed, the views have risen dramatically as the amount of people using TikTok has increased.
The academics behind the study say the app - which you must be 13 to have an account - shows people “unrealistic” ideas around wellness.
Senior researcher Professior Lizzy Pope said: "Each day, millions of teens and young adults are being fed content on TikTok that paints a very unrealistic and inaccurate picture of food, nutrition and health.
She said: "Getting stuck in weight loss TikTok can be a really tough environment, especially for the main users of the platform, which are young people."
Co-author Marisa Minadeo added: “We were continuously surprised by how prevalent the topic of weight was on TikTok. The fact that billions of people were viewing content about weight on the internet says a lot about the role diet culture plays in our society.”
A TikTok spokesperson reacted to the study by pointing the Indy100 to their community guidelines that "make clear that content that promotes unhealthy eating behaviors or habits that are likely to cause adverse health outcomes is not allowed on the platform, and we expanded this policy earlier this year to focus on disordered eating more broadly.
"We made this change in consultation with eating disorders experts, researchers, and physicians, as we understand that people can struggle with unhealthy eating patterns and behavior without having an eating disorder diagnosis."
They also said they direct users to the National Eating Disorder Association when they search for terms related to eating disorders.
