The pursuit of wellness: Social media, body image and eating disorders

Abstract

• Social media use, body image, and eating disorders are connected in Western cultures. • Social media use contributes to body image concerns and psychological distress. • Misguided assumptions underlie online health and wellness content. • Online content promoting weight-management may have negative consequences. • Health At Every Size (HAES) offers an alternative approach to addressing health. Health and wellness have become a cultural focus in Western countries, with weight-management highlighted as imperative for wellbeing. This focus is clearly represented on social networking sites (SNSs), which have grown rapidly in the past decade, and have evolved into an informal source of health education. A great deal of content on SNSs promotes images of idealised bodies, health foods, diets, and exercise, which receive high levels of engagement. Concern has risen that increased SNS use may be influencing mental health, contributing to body image concerns, eating disorders, and psychological distress. Further criticism has emerged that health and wellness content which promotes weight-management may be based on flawed assumptions, and therefore have unintended consequences, such as recurrent cycles of weight loss and regain, chronic stress, exercise avoidance, and depression. The health at every size (HAES) paradigm offers an alternative approach to addressing health, which encourages self-acceptance, intuitive eating, and life-enhancing movement. The present review examines the literature on social media use, body image, and eating disorders in Western cultures. Assumptions which underlie health and wellness content are critically evaluated and the current literature on HAES is explored as a modern approach to health promotion.