Written by: Joey Ong
Edited by: Windy Huang
Eating disorders can affect individuals of all genders with multiple types of pressure influencing their development, especially with the rise of social media and an idealized body image that is put out into society. There are various types of eating disorders, however, they are characterized by “a persistent disturbance of eating or eating-related behavior that results in the altered consumption or absorption of food and that significantly impairs physical health or psychosocial functioning” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Historically, eating disorders have been more prevalent in women than in men. However with a recent trend in ‘gym culture,’ where there are shared values, beliefs and attitudes for those that frequent the gym on an ideal body type, there has been increased visibility of disordered eating among men within the fitness community.
With the recent uproar of social media and mass communication within the last 20 years, multiple concepts of the ‘ideal body’ have been created alongside them. Celebrities, models, and influencers have shaped the American female beauty standard as a Caucasian female with a thin physique (DeBraganza, N., & Hausenblas, H. A., 2010) and the American male beauty standard by muscle tone and muscle mass, with a focus on a toned, muscular, and fit athletic physique (Grogan, S., & Richards, H., 2002). In recent studies done on how social media can influence disordered eating behavior, evidence from over 50 studies has indicated that the usage of social media can lead to concerns about body image, disordered eating, and poor mental health through social comparison, thin/fit ideal internalization and self-objectification (Dane, A., & Bhatia, K., 2023). Frequent users of social media are adolescents, who may be susceptible to the content that falls upon their feeds. This accessibility allows for easy retrieval of content that may reinforce disordered eating behaviors.
Many social media networking sites utilize hashtags as a way to generate interest and engagement for specific topics. Alongside these hashtags, images can be posted as a visualization. The hashtag #fitspiration (fitness + inspiration) was created on the social media platform: Instagram, as a way to inspire individuals to pursue a healthy lifestyle through exercise and eating well, as well as to combat #thinspiration (thin + inspiration) which promoted unhealthy eating habits. Regardless of having good intentions, #fitspiration mainly consisted of only one body type: lean and toned. The lack of representation suggests that the desirable body could only be lean and toned, a standard that may be unattainable for many individuals. This can lead to unhealthy eating habits as individuals want to conform to these ideals, which can potentially result in disordered eating behaviors. It also promoted heavily over-exercising, as well as restrictive eating habits and unhealthy weight loss methods. In order to view the effects of hashtags and fitness inspiration pictures, a study was conducted measuring disordered eating and compulsive exercise in groups of women; one group posted #fitspiration content while the other group posted travel content. It was found that increased measures of disordered eating, drive for muscularity, and compulsive exercise were associated with posting #fitspiration content over travel content, suggesting that there is a societal pressure to conform to the ‘lean and toned’ body type through unhealthy eating habits and compulsive exercising (Holland, G. and Tiggemann, M., 2017). As well as negative consequences to their physical health, their mental health was severely impacted. The hashtag was associated with extreme attitudes and quotes towards exercises such as “Crawling is acceptable, puking is acceptable, tears are acceptable, pain is acceptable. Quitting is unacceptable” (Holland, G. and Tiggemann, M., 2017). With such brutal and hard-core ‘inspiration quotes,’ it became more normalized to label disordered eating as trying to be fit and healthy. 17 different studies have shown that exposure to #fitspiration images led to increased body dissatisfaction which encourages unhealthy eating habits such as excessive/addictive exercise and eating (Jerónimo, F., & Carraça, E. V., 2022). From this, Instagram has taken down both #thinspiration and #fitspiration due to concerns about promoting unhealthy body images and behaviors that may potentially lead to eating disorders.
In the online fitness community, the idea of ‘bulking and cutting’ has become normalized to reach one’s physique goals as an attempt to increase lean muscle mass and reduce body fat. Bulk and cut cycles may include overconsumption of high-protein meals, performance-enhancing drugs, intermittent fasting, restrictions on diet, and over-exercising (Ganson, K. T., 2022). During the bulking stage, the goal is to achieve lean muscle mass by increasing protein intake within a specific timeframe. With excessive calorie consumption, individuals may be at risk of developing binge eating behaviors and associating emotions with food, using food as a coping mechanism for emotional distress. The bulking stage is immediately followed by the cutting stage, where there is a restriction of caloric intake with the goal of reducing body fat and enhancing muscle definition. Underconsumption can lead to unhealthy weight loss and can have negative consequences on an individual’s physical health such as a slowed metabolism, nutrient deficiencies, muscle loss, reproductive issues, and more. This alternating cycle between an extreme high and an extreme low can negatively impact physical and mental health by creating a complicated relationship with food and encouraging disordered eating. With various methods being promoted on how to achieve body goals, as well as many tutorials and tips readily available on social media, there has been an increase in disordered eating that may be presented as fitness goals. In a study conducted on the prevalence of bulk and cut cycles among genders, it was found that nearly half (48.9%) of men and one in five women (21.2%) reported bulk and cut cycles within the past year (Ganson, K. T., 2022). The engagement rate of bulk and cut cycles was also associated with a more severe eating disorder and muscle dysmorphia psychopathology among all genders. These results showcase the potential risks associated with unhealthy eating habits that may arise from the goal of reaching a fitness ideal influenced by social media.
The concept of ‘Gym Culture’ prevalent in today’s social media has contributed to the idea that unhealthy eating habits and excessive exercising habits may be more acceptable if they are labeled as fitness goals. With easily accessible fitness content, it is simple to fall into the rabbit hole of extremely dangerous behaviors. Eating disorders can lead to serious physical and mental health consequences that can be detrimental throughout an individual’s life. Increased awareness is necessary in order to combat the societal pressures that social media has created. By promoting positive body images and inclusivity of all body types, there can be a new societal norm that values health and celebrates the diversity of different body types.
References:
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Dane, A., & Bhatia, K. (2023). The social media diet: A scoping review to investigate the association between social media, body image and eating disorders amongst young people. PLOS global public health, 3(3), e0001091. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0001091
DeBraganza, N., & Hausenblas, H. A. (2010). Media Exposure of the Ideal Physique on Women’s Body Dissatisfaction and Mood: The Moderating Effects of Ethnicity. Journal of Black Studies, 40(4), 700–716. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40648536
Ganson, K. T., Cunningham, M. L., Pila, E., Rodgers, R. F., Murray, S. B., & Nagata, J. M. (2022). "Bulking and cutting" among a national sample of Canadian adolescents and young adults. Eating and weight disorders : EWD, 27(8), 3759–3765. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-022-01470-y
Grogan, S., & Richards, H. (2002). Body Image: Focus Groups with Boys and Men. Men and Masculinities, 4(3), 219-232. https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X02004003001
Holland, G. and Tiggemann, M. (2017), “Strong beats skinny every time”: Disordered eating and compulsive exercise in women who post fitspiration on Instagram. Int. J. Eat. Disord., 50: 76-79. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22559
Jerónimo, F., & Carraça, E. V. (2022). Effects of fitspiration content on body image: a systematic review. Eating and weight disorders : EWD, 27(8), 3017–3035. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-022-01505-4
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