Orthorexia nervosa and Instagram: exploring the Russian-speaking conversation around #opтopeкcия

Disinformation about diet and nutrition on social networks: a review of the literature

BACKGROUND

social networks have become indispensable for global communication, offering unparalleled access to information. However, the lack of content regulation has allowed health and nutrition misinformation to thrive, posing significant public health risks.

OBJECTIVES

this study aimed to identify the social networks most frequently used for spreading nutrition-related misinformation and evaluate the primary topics, including diseases and dietary claims, featured in these messages.

METHODS

a systematic review of the literature was conducted, analyzing studies focused on nutrition-related misinformation across platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Data collection adhered to PRISMA guidelines, and findings were synthesized narratively to address the study objectives.

RESULTS

this study analyzed 28 documents focusing on nutrition-related misinformation on social networks. Instagram (50 %) and YouTube (39.28 %) were identified as the most prevalent platforms for spreading such content, followed by TikTok (5.13 %) and Twitter (10.72 %). Over 62 % of the reviewed studies addressed misinformation linked to miracle diets, often associated with orthorexia (14.28 %) and COVID-19 (14.28 %). These diets frequently included unverified claims of rapid health improvements. Notably, credible nutrition content was predominantly shared by healthcare professionals and academic organizations, highlighting their key role in fight against misinformation.

CONCLUSIONS

misinformation about nutrition on social networks is a growing public health concern. Public health institutions must implement strategies to improve digital literacy and provide tools for assessing information credibility. Healthcare professionals should leverage social media to disseminate evidence-based knowledge, counteracting the influence of unreliable sources. Collaborative efforts are essential to ensure social networks serve as platforms for reliable health promotion and education.

Digging into digital buffets: A systematic review of eating-related social media content and its relationship with body image and eating behaviours

Recently, researchers have started investigating the influence of eating-focused social media content on viewers' body image and eating behaviour. The current systematic review collates the evidence for the relationship between exposure to eating-related social media content and people's body image, disordered eating, food consumption, and eating-related opinions. Following PRISMA guidelines, searches were conducted on five databases (i.e., Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus, and ProQuest), resulting in 38 eligible studies that examined the link between eating-related content and body image, eating behaviour and/or viewers' perceptions. Evidence showed positive relationships between exposure to certain material on social media (e.g., fast-food advertisements, clean eating, eating videos) and body image concerns, disordered eating, and consumption of, or a willingness to consume the foods seen on social media; however, studies that focused on 'healthy food' content showed no such link. Viewers expressed mixed feelings towards content such as nutrition information and mukbang videos which record hosts eating a large amount of food. Future research would benefit from a consistent measure of exposure to different eating-related content. There is also a need for more experimental research to examine the impact of watching different types of eating videos on body image, disordered eating, and food consumption.

"Your struggles are valid, you are worthy of help and you deserve to recover": narratives of recovery from orthorexia nervosa

PURPOSE

Limited research has examined recovery processes and conceptualisations of recovery within orthorexia nervosa (ON). This study harnessed Instagram data to examine how people who self-identify with ON use the hashtag #OrthorexiaRecovery and how recovery is represented within this online space.

METHODS

500 textual posts containing #OrthorexiaRecovery were extracted from Instagram. Co-occurring hashtags were analysed descriptively to determine whether this online space is specific to ON, and textual data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

RESULTS

The hashtag analysis indicated that #OrthorexiaRecovery is being used within a wider context of eating disorder recovery and awareness, but also provides deep insights into experiences of recovery from ON. The thematic analysis generated five themes: the invisibility of orthorexia; a turbulent and continuous process; finding food freedom; from compulsive exercise to intuitive movement; a community of support. Our findings suggest that people with self-reported ON experience recovery as a continuous process and the current invisibility of ON within diagnostic criteria and wider society impedes recovery. While working towards recovery, users aimed to be free from diet culture, become more attuned to their bodies, and develop more adaptive relationships with food and fitness. Users noted a general lack of support for people with ON and so used this online space to create a supportive community, though some content was potentially triggering.

CONCLUSION

Our findings highlight the importance of increased recognition of ON and the potential value of targeting societal norms and harnessing social identity resources within therapeutic interventions for ON.