A 6-week review of the Zoe Health AI Meal Tracker app highlights its features like AI photo logging, a food risk scale, and an AI chatbot, which can help users understand their diet better. While useful for gaining insights and making informed choices, some features like gamification and diet scores may not suit everyone, especially those with disordered eating or specific health conditions. The app costs $100/year for the Plus version, and users should exercise caution and consult healthcare providers if needed.
The article warns against popular online wellness trends like cutting carbs, toxic 'what I eat in a day' content, carnivore diets, juice cleanses, and hormone 'hacks' such as raw carrot salads, highlighting their potential harms and offering healthier, sustainable alternatives for supporting overall health, hormones, and digestion.
'What I eat in a day' videos on social media can promote harmful ideas about diet and body image, potentially leading to disordered eating, low mood, and poor self-esteem. These videos often promote unrealistic standards and do not reflect individual nutritional needs, so viewers should be cautious, unfollow harmful content, and seek professional advice for healthy eating habits.
A study finds that weight stigma, rather than weight loss itself, significantly impacts mental health outcomes after bariatric surgery, highlighting the importance of addressing societal bias at all stages of weight management.
Orthorexia is an emerging condition characterized by an obsession with healthy eating and food purity, which can interfere with daily life and mental health. Experts suggest signs include extreme food restrictions, social withdrawal, obsessive ingredient analysis, and guilt when breaking rules. Support from health professionals and adopting a balanced, flexible approach to nutrition are recommended for those concerned about their eating habits.
Social media's promotion of idealized muscular bodies is contributing to a new form of disordered eating called muscularity-oriented disordered eating (Mode), which predominantly affects young men and involves extreme dieting, supplement use, and body checking, leading to physical and mental health risks. The trend is fueled by influencers and platforms like Instagram and TikTok, and awareness and intervention are needed to address this public health concern.
Orthorexia is a growing condition characterized by an obsession with healthy eating and food purity, which can interfere with daily life and mental health. It is not yet officially recognized in the DSM-5 but is acknowledged within the disordered eating community. Signs include extreme food restrictions, obsessive ingredient analysis, and social interference. Support from health professionals can help recover, and adopting a balanced, flexible approach to nutrition is recommended to prevent or address orthorexia.
Fitness trackers like Apple Watch and Fitbit can provide valuable health data for some users, but for others, they can exacerbate disordered eating and anxiety. Medical experts warn that individuals seeking perfection in their lives may be particularly vulnerable. While some users have benefited from the devices, others have experienced negative impacts on their mental and physical well-being. Tech companies are working to create a better balance, with some offering options to customize tracking and reduce information overload. Experts recommend taking breaks from using the trackers to assess their impact on mental and physical health.
A mom's Instagram post advising people to avoid discussing diets and calories when buying Girl Scout cookies has sparked a debate. The mom, an advocate for disordered eating recovery, is concerned about the impact of such conversations on young girls' relationship with food. Experts warn that labeling food as good or bad can lead to disordered eating behaviors, especially in vulnerable populations like young girls. The mom suggests a simple "no thank you" when declining to buy cookies, emphasizing the importance of promoting a neutral perspective on food and body image.
While indulging in a holiday meal like Thanksgiving is not a major health concern, registered dietitian Amanda Holtzer warns against unhealthy behaviors such as restricting food or demonizing certain foods. These behaviors can fuel disordered eating and negatively impact one's relationship with food. Holtzer recommends eating a high protein breakfast and lunch or a snack before the big meal to avoid overeating. Additionally, comments about another person's body or the food on their plate should be avoided, as they can have a negative impact. It is important to shift away from diet culture and focus on a healthy relationship with food.
The author reflects on their personal struggle with body image and the societal pressure to be thin. They discuss the current trend of weight-loss injectables like Ozempic and the discourse surrounding them. Despite the temptation, the author acknowledges that these drugs are not suitable for everyone and questions the value of chasing bodily perfection. They express hope for future generations to reject the fallacy that thinness equals happiness and embrace self-acceptance.
The wellness industry often sells the idea that adhering to particular eating habits, many of which are sneakily restrictive, is necessary for optimal health. However, these “wellness” diets generally aren’t backed by sufficient evidence for widespread use and can trigger or exacerbate disordered eating in vulnerable people. Social media algorithms can also play a role in promoting wellness misinformation, leading to harmful habits. A way forward means filtering, fact-checking, and unfollowing, and focusing on real well-being, which means having social support, economic security, just and equitable treatment, purpose, and satisfaction in life.
In her new book, The Wellness Trap, intuitive eating counselor and writer Christy Harrison argues that the wellness industry is a vortex where people's time, money, and actual well-being are subsumed by a wildly profitable industry. Harrison's skepticism toward the cult of wellness comes from a personal place: she spent years touting "clean" eating, organic foods, and gluten-free regimens while trying to find a diagnosis for a mysterious set of symptoms she was suffering from. The Wellness Trap argues that this industry grew from major systemic failures like poor health care, the spread of misinformation, and the tragedy of American individualism.
Bethenny Frankel defended Gwyneth Paltrow's intermittent fasting diet after critics alleged she's promoting disordered eating. Frankel implored her followers not to hate on Paltrow because she's being truthful to "who she is - and who she always has been." Paltrow made headlines earlier this month when she revealed that her diet consists of bone broth and fasting. The Avengers: Endgame star was quickly called out by social media users, some of whom pointed out that bone broth isn't a proper meal and argued that fasting promotes disordered eating.
