Clean Eating Research Articles

A reflexive thematic analysis of #WhatIEatInADay on TikTok

Eating-related content is common on TikTok, a popular video-based social media platform, but studies of eating-related content on TikTok are limited. Given the documented association between social media use and disordered eating, investigation of eating-related content on TikTok is needed. One subset of popular eating-related content is “What I Eat in a Day” (#WhatIEatInADay), in which a creator documents the food they eat over the assumed span of a single day. We sought to evaluate the content of TikTok #WhatIEatInADay videos (N = 100) using reflexive thematic analysis. Two primary types of videos emerged. First, Lifestyle videos (N = 60), which included aesthetic elements, presentations of clean eating, stylized meals, promotion of weight loss and the thin ideal, normalization of eating as a fat woman, and disordered eating content. Second, Eating Only videos (N = 40), which were primarily focused on food, and included upbeat music, an emphasis on highly palatable foods, displays of irony, emojis, and excessive consumption of food. Because viewing eating-related social media content has been associated with disordered eating, both types of TikTok #WhatIEatInADay videos may be harmful to vulnerable youth. Given the popularity of TikTok and #WhatIEatinADay, clinicians and researchers should consider the potential impact of this trend. Future research should examine the impact of viewing TikTok #WhatIEatInADay videos on disordered eating risk factors and behaviors.

Motives, propensities and consistencies among Swedish consumers in relation to the food choice concept of clean eating

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore how consumers apply clean-eating criteria to a range of food characteristics, and the extent to which individuals are consistent in how they apply clean-eating criteria across products. Further, this study investigates how the clean-eating approach relates to underlying food choice motives.Design/methodology/approachData were collected in a consumer survey (n = 666) in Sweden, where participants were prompted about the importance of a set of intrinsic food attributes of the “free-from” and “added” types, for three different food product types (bread, processed meat, ready meals). Data were analyzed using latent class cluster analysis, to explore segments of consumers that place similar importance to the food characteristics and hold similar food choice motives.FindingsClean eating can be described by two distinctly different attainment strategies: avoiding undesirable characteristics or by simultaneously approaching desirable characteristics. Notably, individuals who apply clean-eating criteria in their food choices strive for healthy, natural and environmentally friendly food, but the clean-by-approach strategy implies a stronger focus on personal health in the form of weight control.Originality/valueWhile claims and labels on food packages concerning clean eating are implemented by food manufacturers, it remains unregulated. This study provides information for future regulations on how consumers apply clean-eating criteria, and their motives thereof. Further, the results provide insights food manufacturers regarding motives for clean eating in different consumer segments.

Failure of colony growth in probiotic Lactobacillus casei Shirota as result of preservative sorbic acid

Preservatives have been a part of the food industry for years. Even before the days of bacterial pesticides and other antimicrobial technology, people used items like salt to prevent bacteria from growing. However, questionable claims on the negative effects of preservatives have been made, starting a new wave of “clean eating.” In this study, we tested the proficiency of different concentrations of the antimicrobial sorbic acid to inhibit the probiotic Lactobacillus casei Shirota. We hypothesized that sorbic acid’s use as a bacterial deterrent would also target this bacterial strain of Lactobacillus. We inoculated petri dishes in trials of 0%, 0.03%, and 0.1% sorbic acid concentrations and examined them over the 36-hour study. The results supported our hypothesis, with the colony count of L. casei Shirota having significant decreases at all concentrations of sorbic acid. These results additionally suggest that even under the FDA sorbic acid restrictions of 0.03% concentration, damaging effects could be seen in L. casei Shirota.

College students' perceptions of individuals following popular diets and individuals with Orthorexia Nervosa

Dietary trends, such as “clean eating” and the ketogenic diet, are popular among young adults. However, very few studies have investigated perceptions of individuals who reportedly adhere to specific popular diets, despite research indicating that people ascribe more positive attributes to individuals described as healthy eaters. Given these diets' popularity, and the potential harm that comes from following them, it seems important to understand college students' perceptions of these eating patterns. This study investigated female undergraduates' (n = 463) perceptions of vignette characters described as adhering to specific dietary practices, including three popular diets (Clean Eating, Keto, and Intermittent Fasting), the rigid healthy eating pattern, Orthorexia nervosa (ON), and a nondieting control. Characters described as adhering to Clean Eating were viewed most positively, followed by individuals following the Ketogenic diet or nondieters. Characters following an Intermittent Fasting diet, and those with ON were viewed most negatively. Findings support the idea that perceptions of individuals are associated with their adherence to specific popular diets. Future research should investigate potential links among dieting behavior and impression management.

Clean eating: Rating the consequences

Clean eating: Rating the consequences

“Eat clean, train mean, get lean”: Body image and health behaviours of women who engage with fitspiration and clean eating imagery on Instagram

The present study examined the relationship between posting or viewing fitspiration and clean eating imagery in relation to body image, disordered eating, and compulsive exercise among women. Participants (269 women aged 18–30 years) who posted and/or viewed fitspiration, clean eating or travel imagery on Instagram completed an online cross-sectional questionnaire. Results showed engaging with fitspiration and clean eating material (either posting or viewing) was significantly positively associated with increased levels of compulsive exercise and athletic-ideal internalization. However, only viewing (not posting) fitspiration and clean eating content was significantly related to thin-ideal internalization and disordered eating symptomatology. Athletic-ideal internalization mediated the relationships between posting fitspiration/clean eating and disordered eating symptomatology and compulsive exercise. Both thin-ideal internalization and athletic-ideal internalization mediated the relationship between viewing fitspiration/clean eating material and disordered eating and compulsive exercise. Overall, the findings suggest that viewing fitspiration and clean eating content on Instagram is negatively associated with thin-ideal internalization and disordered eating symptomatology, however the same relationships do not exist for people who frequently post these types of material. The mediational pathways provide a nuanced understanding of how engaging with fitspiration and clean eating material on social media influences female users’ body image and health behaviour.

Toxically Clean

The public’s declining trust in health advice from traditional outlets has long been noted by scholars. But what makes alternative sources for health information appear more trustworthy to some audiences? In this analysis, the author traces the use of expertise and experience as forms of multivocality in the textual artifacts of Gwyneth Paltrow and her enterprise, Goop—specifically those that promote clean eating and detox diets. The analysis illustrates how Goop creates a superficially neutral platform for different voices that make the texts seem polyphonic and by extension more trustworthy given that readers can choose which health plan is right for them. But upon further analysis the author illustrates that Goop blends each voice so that they “move in step” as a choir, combining with Paltrow’s own voice, and ultimately creating an illusion of polyphony and masking a dominant homophonic message that ties together mandates to “ask questions,” empower ourselves, and embrace the assumption that young, slender bodies are signifiers of health and wellness.

Orthorexia nervosa and Instagram: exploring the Russian-speaking conversation around #op\u0442ope\u043ac\u0438\u044f

This mixed-methods study explored the conversation around orthorexia nervosa (ON) on Instagram from a Russian-speaking perspective. Two quantitative data sources were implemented; a comparative content analysis of posts tagged with #opтopeкcия (n = 234) and #orthorexia (n = 243), and an online questionnaire completed by Russian-speakers (n = 96) sharing ON-related content on Instagram. Additionally, five questionnaire participants were interviewed, four of which identified with having (had) ON. Russian-speakers who share ON-related content on Instagram are primarily female, around their late-twenties, and prefer Instagram over other platforms. They describe people with ON as obsessed with correct eating, rather than healthy or clean eating. Instagram appears to have a dual effect; it has the potential to both trigger the onset of ON and encourage recovery. Positive content encourages a healthy relationship with food, promotes intuitive eating, and spread recovery advice. Harmful content, in turn, emphasizes specific diet and beauty ideals. Russian-speaking users mainly post pictures of food, followed by largely informative text that explains what ON is, and what recovery may look like. Their reasons for posting ON-related content are to share personal experiences, support others in recovery, and raise awareness about ON. Two main target audiences were people unaware of ON and people seeking recovery support. The relationship between ON and social media is not strictly limited to the global north. Thus, it may be valuable to further investigate non-English-speaking populations currently underrepresented in ON research.Level of evidence: Level V, descriptive study.

Healthy Food on Instagram Social Network: Vegan, Homemade and Clean Eating.

Social media platforms have become part of many people’s lives. Users are spending more and more time on these platforms, creating an active and passive digital footprint through their interaction. This footprint has high research potential in many research areas because understanding people’s communication on social media is essential in understanding their values, attitudes, experiences and behaviors. Researchers found that the use of social networking sites impacts adolescents’ eating behavior. If we define adolescents as individuals between ages 10 and 24 (WHO’s definition), 76% of USA young people at age 18–⁠24 use Instagram, so the Instagram social network analysis is important for understanding young people’s expressions in the context of healthy food. This study aims to identify the main topic associated with healthy food on the Instagram social network via hashtag and community analysis based on 2,045,653 messages created by 427,936 individual users. The results show that users most associate Healthy food with healthy lifestyle, fitness, weight loss and diet. In terms of food, these are foods that are Vegan, Homemade, Clean and Plant-based. Given that young people change their behavior in relation to people’s behavior on social networks, it is possible to use this data to predict their future association with healthy food characteristics.

Instagram and intermodal configurations of value

Abstract This paper explores how ideological positions associated with food are construed multimodally in Instagram posts produced by everyday social media users. Discourse about food choices is an important site for revealing syndromes of values that characterise the ideological positions that are embedded in everyday life. An example of a highly valued food is the avocado which is an important bonding icon in semantic domains from veganism, clean eating, keto/low-carb eating, ethical/sustainable eating to fitness. We explore how values associated with avocado toast are enacted intermodally through the interplay of meanings made in the images, captions, and tags in a corpus of 64,585 Instagram posts tagged #avotoast. The study draws on previous social semiotic work on visual intersubjectivity and everyday aesthetics in social photography (Zhao and Zappavigna 2018a) to interpret the visual meanings made in these posts. It also draws on research into intermodal coupling (image-text relations) and ambient affiliation (online social bonding) (Zappavigna 2018) to understand how different values are construed in these texts. A modified grounded theory approach is used to isolate and exemplify the visual and textual features at stake, and then to explore ideological positionings through close multimodal analysis. A particularly interesting pattern in the corpus is the interaction of aesthetic and moralising discourses. For instance, a regulative metadiscourse realised through hashtags is used to project an instructional discourse about how to eat and what is considered ethical, sustainable, and nutritious food consumption. Rather than being directly encoded as judgement of behaviour these assessments tended to be expressed as appreciation of food items and their aesthetics or worth (e.g., clean, healthy, etc.).

Clean eating and Instagram: purity, defilement, and the idealization of food

ABSTRACT Food cultures are shaped by the ubiquity of digital photography. Embedded in social media sites, such as Instagram, images of food are used in photographic exchanges to perform identity and interact with community. In a context of proliferating food media, an ethics of “clean eating” – a dietary practice adhering to consuming “healthy” foods deemed to be “pure” – is presented as a form of moral food consumption that embraces particular foods while eschewing others. In this article we explore the symbolic dimensions of top post clean eating food images associated with the hashtags #eatclean and #cleaneating and consider how they mobilize photographic practices to present and encourage this lifestyle. Drawing on Mary Douglas and Erving Goffman as our theoretical foundation, we argue that the photographic capturing of food plays a symbolic role in extolling purity through the presentation of idealized images of “clean” foods that are contrasted with foods perceived as defiled. Clean eating posts draw on forms of idealization that aims to garner esteem and attention, while also generating a sense of community through food media. These practices are also configured around an ethics of food that encourage responsible consumption for the individual as a healthy subject.

It's complicated: The relationship between orthorexia and weight/shape concerns, eating behaviors, and mood

Clean eating (i.e., eating healthy foods largely from nature) has become a recent popular lifestyle trend. Orthorexia is the term used to describe a pathological preoccupation with healthy eating which causes significant impairment in one's life. The present study examined orthorexia symptoms in relation to sample characteristics, weight/shape concerns, eating behaviors, and mood in a general population sample in the United States. Participants included 217 adults who completed surveys on weight/shape concerns, eating behaviors, and mood via the data collection site, Prolific. Men had higher orthorexia symptoms than women. Across all participants, orthorexia was not related to weight/shape concerns but was related to higher weight-related restraint eating behaviors. Orthorexia was not related to stress or negative emotions; however, it was related to having higher well-being. Multiple regressions revealed how the main variables predicted orthorexia symptoms separately by gender. Routine restraint, emotional eating, stress, and well-being were significant predictors of orthorexia for men. Weight/shape concerns, routine restraint, stress, and negative emotion were significant predictors of orthorexia for women. As such, it appears that orthorexia symptomatology has both advantageous and disadvantageous associations and differentially affects men and women.

Eating Disorder Risk and Severity as a Function of Following Self-Administered Popular Diets

Abstract Objectives Adherence to popular diets has increased in recent years. This is concerning as extreme dieting behaviors, which may develop as a result of following certain diets, can increase risk for developing an eating disorder (ED). We assessed whether adherence to popular diets (i.e., gluten free, vegetarian, paleo, and clean eating) is related to ED diagnosis and severity. We hypothesized that adherence to any popular diet would be associated with ED risk, while adherence to an increasing number of diets would be associated with ED severity. Methods Adult women admitted to an intensive outpatient or partial hospitalization program for ED treatment were recruited to participate. Demographic information (age and race), ED diagnosis and severity (identified by a trained clinician and scored by the Eating Disorder Inventory 3 (EDI-3)), and height and weight were collected. A self-administered survey assessed diet history. Results Seventy-seven women aged 26.74 years (SD = 7.71), primarily white (89.6%), with an ED diagnosis (48.1% anorexia nervosa (AN); 20.8% bulimia nervosa (BN), 16.9% binge eating disorder (BED), and 14.3% “eating disorder not otherwise specified” (EDNOS)) participated. The majority (63.6%) reported currently or previously following a minimum of one pre-selected diet and 7.8% indicated following all four diets at some time point. Diet history was related to ED diagnosis (x2 = 15.981, P = 0.014), particularly among participants diagnosed with AN, BN, or EDNOS. Adherence to specific diets, including gluten free or vegetarian, was not associated with ED diagnosis (x2 = 11.422, P = 0.076 and x2 = 7.789, P = 0.254, respectively), although adherence to paleo and clean eating were more commonly followed by participants diagnosed with EDNOS (x2 = 9.419, P = 0.151 and x2 = 12.307, P = 0.055, respectively). Paleo diets were significantly associated with 3 of the 6 EDI-3 composite scores (P < 0.05), whereas vegetarian was associated with 1, and clean eating and gluten free were not associated with ED severity. Conclusions More restrictive diets, or those that require increased effort to learn and follow (i.e., paleo and clean eating), were more strongly associated with an EDNOS diagnosis. Assessment of dieting history may be clinically useful to better identify and diagnose patients with EDs in the future. Funding Sources No funding to report.

Clean eating’s surprising normalisation: The case of Nigella Lawson

Clean eating as a dietary form of ‘good food’ has grown in popularity in the last decade. This article explores how it has come to be associated with certain ingredients and a general discourse of wellbeing. Whllst being largely discredited as psuedo-science, many of these ingredients have found their ways into recipes in the cookery books of those who declare a clear opposition to clean eating. In particular, the cookery books of Nigella Lawson will be explored as she states a preference for new ingredients that are typically associated with clean eating.

Is #cleaneating a healthy or harmful dietary strategy? Perceptions of clean eating and associations with disordered eating among young adults

BackgroundAlthough “clean eating” is widely propagated through social media and anecdotal reports in the popular press, there is almost no scientific research on this potentially risky dietary strategy. The current investigation explored definitions and perceptions of “clean eating” and its associations with indicators of disordered eating among diverse U.S.-based undergraduates.MethodUndergraduates (N = 148, Mage = 19.41 years, 70.3% women) were asked to define “clean eating” via an open-ended question and then read vignettes featuring five “clean” diets, all of which caused mild functional impairment across multiple domains. Participants rated the extent to which they believed the diet was 1) “healthy,” 2) reflective of “clean eating,” and 3) likely to be adopted by them. Finally, participants completed questionnaires to assess body appearance evaluation, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, eating disorder symptoms, and symptoms of orthorexia nervosa.ResultsOpen-ended responses indicated that participants defined “clean eating” in varied but overwhelmingly positive terms. Repeated measures ANOVAs indicated that the “meal substitution” vignette was perceived as the least healthy, least “clean,” and least likely to be adopted, whereas the “new” (balanced) diet vignette was rated the highest on these domains. Correlations among diet perceptions and indicators of disordered eating were positive and significant.Conclusions“Clean eating” is likely a heterogeneous phenomenon that is viewed favorably by U.S.-based college students even when it is linked with functional impairment and emotional distress. Ongoing examination of “clean eating” could clarify the potential benefits and risks posed by this dietary strategy and thus inform eating disorder prevention efforts.

Customer Experience with Organic Food: Global View

In recent years, organic food production has been rising dramatically both in the EU and the USA. Previous research on consumer perception of organic food has mainly employed questionnaire survey methods. However, in the current age of the social network phenomenon, social media could prove to be a rich source of data. Increasingly, consumers are using social networks to share personal attitudes and experiences. This shared content could inform us about consumer opinions. Social network analysis and related sentiment analysis could allow identification of consumers’ experience and feelings about organic food. We investigated the perception of organic food using 1,325,435 Instagram interactions by 313,883 users worldwide. The data were recorded between July 4, 2016, and April 19, 2017. We identified three major hashtag areas (healthy, vegan, and clean food). The sentiment analysis revealed three dominant areas related to the #organicfood hashtag (feelings, taste, and appearance). Cluster analysis extracted four areas, as follows: Healthy living, Vegetarian, vegan, and raw diets, Clean eating, and Active healthy living. The mentioned communities are significant and useful at identification of customers values for farmers organic food product management and marketing communication in terms of product positioning.

The Dirt on Clean Eating: A Cross Sectional Analysis of Dietary Intake, Restrained Eating and Opinions about Clean Eating among Women.

Clean eating is understood in broad terms to be an approach to eating which promotes the exclusion of processed foods. Social media and websites which promote clean eating are becoming increasingly popular as sources of nutrition information. Currently, there is a lack of knowledge regarding women’s opinions about clean eating sites and their influence on eating behaviour. The aim of the present study was to investigate differences in dietary intake, dietary restraint and opinions about clean eating between women who had, and women who had never adhered to dietary advice from clean eating sites. Using a cross-sectional survey design, women (n = 762) ranging in age from 17–55 completed a self-report questionnaire on eating behaviour and beliefs about clean eating. Findings showed that 25.5% of the sample adhered to dietary advice from a clean eating site sometimes, often or very often. A significantly higher proportion of women who had adhered to dietary advice from clean eating sites met dietary guidelines for the consumption of fruit, meats and alternatives compared to women who had seldom or never adhered. Adherers also had significantly higher levels of restrained eating and were more positive about clean eating in general in comparison to those who seldom or never adhered. Results provide new information about exposure to clean eating sites and how they may influence women’s eating practices. These preliminary findings suggest additional studies are required to better understand the influence of clean eating sites, particularly with regard to whether the information on such sites are from reputable sources and to what degree their recommendations may be problematic for individuals with eating concerns.

‘Good Morning Fitfam’: Top posts, hashtags and gender display on Instagram

Social networking sites are important platforms for visual self-presentation online. This article investigates how content producers present their gender identities on the social networking site, Instagram. We draw upon and develop Goffman’s analytic framework to understand the self-presentation techniques and styles users employ online. Conducting a visual content analysis of clean eating–related top posts, we examine how users deploy clean eating hashtags and how the architecture of Instagram constrains and enables certain identities around shared lifestyles and commercial interests. Our findings reveal the symbolic significance of hashtags for group membership and the degree to which gender identities on Instagram are configured around platform interfaces.

The roles of social media, clean eating and self-esteem in the risk of disordered eating: A pilot study of self-reported healthy eaters

Background: Clean eating is a dietary trend focused on the avoidance of unhealthy foods. Social media encourages these highly restrictive diets and can lead to eating disorders and low self-esteem. This study examines the influence of dietary classification, social media use, diet quality and self-esteem on eating disorder risk amongst a healthy group. Method: Forty-one participants completed an online survey examining diet quality via the healthy eating index; and eating disorder risk using the eating disorder examination questionnaire (EDE-Q). Participants were also asked to complete Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale and reveal whether they defined their diet as either ‘clean’ or ‘pure’; reflective of the trend of clean eating. Participants also categorised the time spent on social media each day. Results: Independent t-tests revealed that participants who categorised their diet as ‘clean’ had significantly higher SE (t(39) = 2.729; P=.009); whilst greater time on social media was associated with elevated eating disorder risk (t(39) =-2.99; P=.005) and poorer SE (t(39) =-3.01; P=.005). Multiple linear regression revealed that social media usage was a significant predictor of eating concern (s=.419; P=.01); whilst SE significantly predicted eating restraint (s=-.423; P=.03); shape concern (s=.217; P=.04); weight concern (s=-.454; P=.008) and the global EDE-Q score (s=-.437; P<.01). Conclusions: Both social media usage and self-esteem might play a key role in the development of eating disorders in a healthy group; with high social media usage also influencing self-esteem. Future research should examine how social media could be used to promote good self-esteem and thus reduce eating disorder risk.

Looking Strategically to the Future of Restaurants: Casual Dining or Fast Casual?

The partners of Clean Eating stood outside of their newly launched restaurant, gazing upon the long line of guests waiting to enter the newest fast casual restaurant concept to open for business in Jacksonville, FL. The concept had generated a great deal of media “buzz” due to its core competency of sourcing and serving all natural and fresh ingredients. The partners’ first concept, Fresh Mexican, a casual dining restaurant, had been a successful venture for 20 plus years. Fresh Mexican had sustained year to year growth and had been consistently profitable. The focus of the case centered on the owners’ strategic and financial analysis as well as leadership process in determining the future direction of their company. Should the partners expand their successful full service restaurant concept or continue the development and growth of their new fast casual restaurant concept? Students will explore the robust entrepreneurial, strategic, and financial constructs typically faced by growing enterprises. The case is appropriate for both undergraduate and graduate level courses in entrepreneurship and strategy. The situations described in the case were based on actual events. The names of the restaurants, parties involved, and location have been altered to preserve anonymity.