Image credit to Doctorxgc
A recent study from Charles Sturt University in Australia found that just eight minutes of watching weight loss content on TikTok can harm mental health.
The research highlights the risks of pro-anorexia content on the platform, especially for young women.
With over a billion monthly active users worldwide, TikTok’s influence is vast.
The researchers conducted their study with 273 women aged 18 to 28, who were surveyed about their TikTok usage, body image, and attitudes toward beauty standards.
The study also assessed symptoms of disordered eating and calculated the risk for orthorexia, an unhealthy obsession with “pure” or “healthy” foods.
Participants were divided into two groups: one watched seven to eight minutes of disordered eating content, such as videos of young women starving themselves, offering weight loss tips, or promoting extreme workouts and juice cleanses. The other group viewed neutral content related to nature, cooking, animals, or comedy.
Both groups reported a decrease in body image satisfaction after viewing the videos.
However, those exposed to pro-anorexia content felt particularly worse about themselves and internalized the belief that thinness is crucial.
Although women who used TikTok for more than two hours a day reported more disordered eating behaviors, the researchers did not find a significant pattern.
To address this issue, the study’s authors recommend stricter controls and regulations on pro-anorexia, disordered eating, and body-related content on TikTok.
They noted that while the platform has taken steps to delete dangerous content and block searches for terms like “#anorexia,” users often find ways to circumvent these measures, necessitating further regulation.
The data for this study was collected in mid-2021, nearly three years before TikTok updated its community guidelines in April to combat harmful weight loss content.
According to a TikTok spokesperson, the platform does not allow content that promotes disordered eating and dangerous weight loss behaviors.
TikTok is working to ensure users have a diverse and safe viewing experience, recognizing that what is triggering for one person may be entirely harmless for another.