Will you lose weight and keep it off if you diet? No, probably not, UCLA researchers report in the April issue ofAmerican Psychologist,the journal of the American Psychological Association.

You can initially lose 5 to 10 percent of your weight on any number of diets, but then the weight comes back, said Traci Mann, UCLA associate professor of psychology and lead author of the study. We found that the majority of people regained all the weight, plus more. Sustained weight loss was found only in a small minority of participants, while complete weight regain was found in the majority. Diets do not lead to sustained weight loss or health benefits for the majority of people.

Mann and her co-authors conducted the most comprehensive and rigorous analysis of diet studies, analyzing 31 long-term studies.

What happens to people on diets in the long run? Mann asked. Would they have been better off to not go on a diet at all? We decided to dig up and analyze every study that followed people on diets for two to five years. We concluded most of them would have been better off not going on the diet at all. Their weight would be pretty much the same, and their bodies would not suffer the wear and tear from losing weight and gaining it all back.

People on diets typically lose 5 to 10 percent of their starting weight in the first six months, the researchers found. However, at least one-third to two-thirds of people on diets regain more weight than they lost within four or five years, and the true number may well be significantly higher, they said.

Although the findings reported give a bleak picture of the effectiveness of diets, there are reasons why the actual effectiveness of diets is even worse, Mann said.

Mann said that certain factors biased the diet studies to make them appear more effective than they really were. For one, many participants self-reported their weight by phone or mail rather than having their weight measured on a scale by an impartial source. Also, the studies have very low follow-up rates eight of the studies had follow-up rates lower than 50 percent, and those who responded may not have been representative of the entire group, since people who gain back large amounts of weight are generally unlikely to show up for follow-up tests, Mann said.

Several studies indicate that dieting is actually a consistent predictor of future weight gain, said Janet Tomiyama, a UCLA graduate student of psychology and co-author of the study. One study found that both men and women who participated in formal weight-loss programs gained significantly more weight over a two-year period than those who had not participated in a weight-loss program, she said.

Another study, which examined a variety of lifestyle factors and their relationship to changes in weight in more than 19,000 healthy older men over a four-year period, found that one of the best predictors of weight gain over the four years was having lost weight on a diet at some point during the years before the study started, Tomiyama said. In several studies, people in control groups who did not diet were not that much worse off and in many cases were better off than those who did diet, she said.

If dieting doesnt work, what does?

Eating in moderation is a good idea for everybody, and so is regular exercise, Mann said. That is not what we looked at in this study. Exercise may well be the key factor leading to sustained weight loss. Studies consistently find that people who reported the most exercise also had the most weight loss.

Diet studies of less than two years are too short to show whether dieters have regained the weight they lost, Mann said.

Even when you follow dieters four years, theyre still regaining weight, she said.

One study of dieting obese patients followed them for varying lengths of time. Among those who were followed for fewer than two years, 23 percent gained back more weight than they had lost, while of those who were followed for at least two years, 83 percent gained back more weight than they had lost, Mann said. One study found that 50 percent of dieters weighed more than 11 pounds over their starting weight five years after the diet, she said.

Evidence suggests that repeatedly losing and gaining weight is linked to cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes and altered immune function. Mann and Tomiyama recommend that more research be conducted on the health effects of losing and gaining weight, noting that scientists do not fully understand how such weight cycling leads to adverse health effects.

Mann notes that her mother has tried different diets, and has not succeeded in keeping the weight off. My mother has been on diets and says what we are saying is obvious, she said.

While the researchers analyzed 31 dieting studies, they have not evaluated specific diets.

Medicare raised the issue of whether obesity is an illness, deleting the words Obesity is not considered an illness from its coverage regulations in 2004. The move may open the door for Medicare to consider funding treatments for obesity, Mann noted.

Diets are not effective in treating obesity, said Mann. We are recommending that Medicare should not fund weight-loss programs as a treatment for obesity. The benefits of dieting are too small and the potential harm is too large for dieting to be recommended as a safe, effective treatment for obesity.

From 1980 to 2000, the percentage of Americans who were obese more than doubled, from 15 percent to 31 percent of the population, Mann noted.

A social psychologist, Mann, taught a UCLA graduate seminar on the psychology of eating four years ago. She and her students continued the research when the course ended. Manns co-authors are Erika Westling, Ann-Marie Lew, Barbra Samuels and Jason Chatman.

We asked what evidence is there that dieting works in the long term, and found that the evidence shows the opposite Tomiyama said.

The research was partially supported by the National Institute of Mental Health.

In future research, Mann is interested in studying whether a combination of diet and exercise is more effective than exercise alone.

UCLA isCalifornias largest university, with an enrollment of nearly 37,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The UCLA College of Letters and Science and the universitys11 professional schools feature renowned faculty and offer more than 300 degree programs and majors. UCLA is a national and international leader in the breadth and quality of its academic, research, health care, cultural, continuing education and athletic programs. Four alumni and five faculty have been awarded the Nobel Prize.

Continued here:
Dieting does not work, UCLA researchers report | UCLA

As technology advances and life becomes busier, achieving a healthy work-life balance is becoming increasingly complex. We all want success in every aspect of our lives, but are you sacrificing your health for this ambition?

It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor. Seneca

Although there are many things that contribute to achieving a healthy work-life balance, here are some small steps you can take to become happier and healthier.

Many people turn towards diets with extreme fad claims whenever they have problems losing weight or staying fit. Although these quick fixes might prove effective in the short term, they will often lead to failure because you arent addressing the real problem.

To lose excess weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in. To maintain a healthy weight, this balance needs to be equal. Forget all the crash diets and get thin quick schemes slow and steady wins the race every time.

Make small healthy changes over time, such as packing your lunch instead of buying it, switching to sugar-free products, canceling unhealthy food deliveries, and introducing super enzymes into your eating plan. At first, these might seem like big sacrifices for minor benefits, but once they become second nature, they will greatly improve your diet without feeling like youre missing out on anything.

Its easier said than done, but there are so many positive outcomes from spending just 30 minutes exercising every day. Along with burning calories, you will be improving your blood circulation, strengthening your muscles, and boosting energy levels.

To see the benefits for yourself, try something new like dance lessons or yoga classes. You could also sign up for self-defense courses or sports that involve kickboxing, boxing, or martial arts to get in shape while learning a valuable skill.

Regardless of whether you work from an office five days a week or stay at home with kids all day every day, its important to take breaks throughout the day and make time for relaxing activities such as reading a book, watching TV shows on Netflix (or whatever is popular nowadays), going out with friends and family, etc.

When putting work first, its easy to forget about our mental health. We can become stressed, depressed, and overwhelmed due to overworking ourselves. Even if you visit the gym every day after work, your body will still be recovering from what your mind has endured throughout the day, so dont neglect this important aspect of self-care.

Does prioritizing a career sound familiar? When were busy chasing money and success, its all too easy to leave out personal relationships. Instead of working overtime for that promotion, try spending time with your partner or family members instead.

Taking vacations or weekends away is an excellent way to improve your relationships while also having fun in the process. If travel isnt possible, then plan a dinner date or movie night at home. You could also try new experiences, such as attending an art gallery exhibition or checking out the latest book releases at your local library.

Friends are also important, you dont have to spend all your free time with them but keeping in touch can help reduce feelings of loneliness or isolation. There are lots of apps where you can make plans to get together, such as Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, Kik, etc.

How financially savvy are you? If youre constantly living paycheck to paycheck and borrowing money from friends and family, its time for some changes. The first step is to stop spending on things that dont bring lasting satisfaction (see: physical goods). Although we all need clothing, toys, and gadgets, we can live without them once in a while.

Try living within your means by creating a detailed budget for one whole month. Break down how much money youre earning every week/fortnight/month and what your essential costs will be (e.g., rent/ mortgage, electricity, water, food). If youre spending more than you earn every month, cancel unnecessary subscriptions and start saving for a rainy day instead of racking up more debt.

Most people work during the week, so its essential to find the right career path which provides satisfaction as well as financial security. To do this, we must take time off to pursue hobbies and interests outside of our working lives.

Later on in your life, dont rush into accepting the first job that comes your way because you feel like its your only option. Instead, research potential careers and their entry requirements before taking part in application tests and interviews. Follow your gut instincts because you will feel happier about doing something you truly love instead of settling for a job that doesnt make use of your potential.

Although its good to learn something new in your free time, you dont have to take up a professional hobby. It can be beneficial to try out activities you used to enjoy during childhood, such as hiking, reading books, playing board games with friends, attending concerts, etc.

If this seems too difficult or daunting at first, start small by scheduling short daily me times where you do the things which make you happy without distractions. For example, instead of scrolling through social media profiles while watching TV every night, turn off your electronic devices and give yourself 10 minutes of peace and quiet before bedtime.

If you follow the above steps, it will be easier to live a balanced life which means greater levels of happiness and self-fulfillment. These are the key factors that, when combined, can lead to long-term success in whatever industry or area of life you choose.

So whether thats at work, home, or school, finding satisfaction with what were doing is crucial for our wellbeing. Take some time out every day to do something positive and see how much better life becomes as a result!

comments

See original here:
7 Steps To Achieve A Healthy Work-Life Balance MyrtleBeachSC News - myrtlebeachsc.com

Weight loss is something many people struggle with, but without the motivation, only a few manage to achieve their goals. For Dominic, who struggled with his weight for a long time, it was both his son and rugby legend Rob Burrow who motivated him to slim. But how did he manage to lose 11 stone?

Dominic shared his weight loss journey and admitted everything started after watching Rob Burrow's interview.

"I was very emotional in December 2020 and after seeing Rob Burrow give an interview following his diagnosis with MND and how he wanted to fight this awful disease so he could spend more time with his young family, it forced me to ask myself some hard questions about my lifestyle and choices.

"I was weighing in at over 22 stone and very unfit when Rob was diagnosed.

"I realised that I needed to change a lot of things about myself so that I could be here in the long term for my son," he explained.

READ MORE:Debenhams returns! High street legend hiring ahead of new store

"I started eating healthier by joining weight watchers and on January 1 I started to run every day (a minimum of one mile) to kickstart my long road back to being a fit and healthy dad so that hopefully I could be as good a role model for my son as Rob has been for thousands of others.

"I followed the coach to five km to help build up my running slowly whilst continuing to run every day.

"I ran every day for 502 days and completed a virtual marathon on May 14, 2021 to celebrate 500 days of running.

"I ran it in three hours 46 minutes. My first run on January 1 was a park run (five km) in 48 minutes 37 seconds," Dominic explained.

DON'T MISS

"By June 2021 I had lost just over 11 stone and Im now at a weight that Im happy with and just eating healthy and exercising to maintain both my physical and mental health," he said.

But Dominic admitted what helped him the most was changing his diet habits and cutting down on one specific thing.

"The big thing that helped the weight loss was cutting my takeaways down from two or three a week to once a week.

"I always kept the one takeaway a week as it gave me something to look forward to and aim towards and it meant that I never felt like I was depriving myself of everything I enjoyed.

"As when Ive done this in the past Ive always 'blown my diet' by having a lot of food that I know I shouldnt all at once because Ive been too strict.

"The other thing was just not having as much processed food as I had before and trying to be more organised by planning my menu for the week so that I had real food to take to work rather than buying a ready meal.

"This usual meant cooking an extra portion of my evening meal to take to work the next day," he said.

Dominic admitted that losing 11 stone has drastically changed his entire life.

"Losing the weight has given me the energy to keep up with my five-year-old son and its given me the confidence to make changes in my life to make me a happier person such as changing careers from being a bus driver to working as a support worker in a college.

"It has also given me much more body confidence than I ever had before. I ran the Manchester marathon on October 10, 2021, and it was such a warm day and I was really struggling with overheating and I actually had the confidence to finally take my top off and run the final nine miles feeling much more comfortable.

"I would never have thought to do this before and even when I was exercising I would wear baggy clothing to hide my body as best as I could," he admitted.

In January 2020 Dominic completed a five km park run in 48 minutes and in October 2021 he ran the Manchester Marathon in three hours 24 minutes 44 seconds.

Read the original post:
Weight loss: Man loses 11st by cutting down on one thing - 'finally took my top off' - Express

COLUMBUS, Ohio There are plenty of waistline-related reasons to avoid highly processed foods, but a new study is adding yet another to the list. Ohio State University scientists report ultra-processed foods actively harm memory function within older brains.

Researchers fed a group of older rats a diet of highly processed foods for a month, sparking a strong inflammatory response in their brains. A number of behavioral signs of memory loss followed as well. Importantly, younger rats fed the same highly processed diet did not experience similar memory declines.

On a more positive note, study authors also found that providing the rodents with DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid) supplements prevented memory issues from occurring and eliminated the inflammatory effects almost entirely.

The team used a specially crafted diet to re-create ready-to-eat human foods like potato chips, frozen foods, and deli meats containing preservatives.

The fact were seeing these effects so quickly is a little bit alarming, says senior study author Ruth Barrientos, an investigator in Ohio States Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research and associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral health, in a university release.

These findings indicate that consumption of a processed diet can produce significant and abrupt memory deficits and in the aging population, rapid memory decline has a greater likelihood of progressing into neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers disease. By being aware of this, maybe we can limit processed foods in our diets and increase consumption of foods that are rich in the omega-3 fatty acid DHA to either prevent or slow that progression, she continues.

With previous studies linking a highly-processed diet obesity, study authors say all older adults should do their best to avoid these products and opt for foods high in DHA, like salmon. DHA, short for docosahexaenoic acid, often comes in combination with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in various fish and other seafoods. DHA helps serve multiple functions within the brain, but perhaps the most important is its role in fighting off inflammation. Still, this research is noteworthy as it is the first ever to focus specifically on DHAs ability to offset brain inflammation due to processed food.

Study authors assigned a collection of three to 24-month-old male rats to one of three diets: Normal (32% calories from protein, 54% from wheat-based complex carbs and 14% from fat), highly processed (19.6% of calories from protein, 63.3% from refined carbs cornstarch, maltodextrin and sucrose and 17.1% from fat), and highly processed plus DHA supplements.

Older rats assigned to the highly processed diet showed gene activity linked to to a powerful pro-inflammatory protein. Moreover, these rats displayed other signs of inflammation within the hippocampus and amygdala. On a more actionable level, older rats eating a processed food diet also performed poorly and showed signs of memory loss during a series of tests. For example, the older rats appeared to forget about an area they had just spent some time in and failed to display anticipatory fear behavior to a danger cue. Both of these observations suggest abnormal activity and problems within the amygdala and hippcampus.

The amygdala in humans has been implicated in memories associated with emotional fear and anxiety-producing events. If this region of the brain is dysfunctional, cues that predict danger may be missed and could lead to bad decisions, Prof. Barrientos adds.

Adding in some DHA supplements, however, appeared to do a great job of blocking any processed food-provoked inflammation and stopping potential memory loss.

Its worth mentioning that all rats eating processed foods ended up gaining significant weight, especially the older rodents. Even those also given DHA supplements saw no difference in this regard. The research team stresses that this work shouldnt suggest that highly processed foods are OK as long as one also takes DHA supplements. The best option by far is to simply avoid such foods.

These are the types of diets that are advertised as being low in fat, but theyre highly processed. They have no fiber and have refined carbohydrates that are also known as low-quality carbohydrates, Prof. Barrientos concludes. Folks who are used to looking at nutritional information need to pay attention to the fiber and quality of carbohydrates. This study really shows those things are important.

The study appears in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

See original here:
Eating highly processed foods for a month can lead to memory loss - Fox 59

A new study had found good evidence that a calorie-restricted diet may slow tumour growth. Which is good news, but itisnt a new idea.

Theres a hundred years of research into the notion that the right diet could slow the progression of cancer or even cure it and calorie restriction has been one line of inquiry, and probably the most promising.

Previous studies have suggested that a calorie-restricted diet might slow tumor growth in some contexts, and such a diet has been shown to extend lifespan in mice and many other animal species.

But cancer and the way our bodies respond to food and drink are complex. Replacing mainstream cancer treatment with a diet of lettuce and tomatoes rarely ends well.

To take a broad concept (calorie restriction) and chisel out an effective treatment for cancer requires an understanding of why and how calorie restriction might retard tumour growth.

The new research, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), offers an answer to those questions, and thats why its exciting.

You may have heard the saying that cancer loves sugar meaning that cancer cells consume a lot of sugar (true) and, turning that around, sugar drives the production of cancer cells (sort of true, but simplistic).

The implication is that if you cut down on sugar youll starve your tumours.

As the MIT researchers explain it, this is why some scientists have hypothesised that either the ketogenic diet (high fat, very low carbs) or calorie restriction might slow tumour growth by reducing the amount of glucose available.

When the researchers gave both diets to mice with pancreatic tumours, glucose levels went down but restricting calories had a much greater effect on tumour growth than the ketogenic diet.

It appeared that glucose levels were probably not playing a major role in the slowdown.

In their second experiment, the scientists found that in the calorie-restricted mice, lipid levels went down, but in mice on the ketogenic diet, they went up.

Why is this significant?

Lipids are molecules that serve as the building blocks of living cells, including cancer cells. These molecules are fats, waxes and oils among other compounds.

When theres a shortage of lipids, the growth of a tumour is impaired because cancer cells need lipids to construct their cell membranes.

Normally, when lipids arent available in a tissue, cells can make their own.

For that to happen, they need to maintain the right balance of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. This requires a particular enzyme (known as SCD) to convert saturated fatty acids into unsaturated fatty acids.

In the experiment, the calorie-restricted and ketogenic diets both reduced SCD activity but mice on the high-fat ketogenic diet had lipids available to them from their diet, so they didnt need to use SCD.

Mice on the calorie-restricted diet, however, couldnt get fatty acids from their diet or produce their own.

In these mice, tumour growth slowed significantly, compared to mice on the ketogenic diet.

Bottom line: While both of these diets reduced the amount of sugar available to tumours, the researchers found that only the calorically restricted diet reduced the availability of fatty acids, and this was linked to a slowdown in tumor growth.

Dr Evan Lien, lead author of the paper, said:

Not only does caloric restriction starve tumours of lipids, it also impairs the process that allows them to adapt to it. That combination is really contributing to the inhibition of tumour growth.

The researchers are not recommending that cancer patients follow a calorie-restricted diet, because it is difficult to maintain and can have harmful side effects.

However, they believe that cancer cells dependence on the availability of unsaturated fatty acids could be exploited to develop drugs that might help slow tumour growth.

The purpose of these studies isnt necessarily to recommend a diet, but its to really understand the underlying biology, Dr Lien said.

They provide some sense of the mechanisms of how these diets work, and that can lead to rational ideas on how we might mimic those situations for cancer therapy.

The researchers now plan to study how diets with a variety of fat sources including plant or animal-based fats with defined differences in saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acid content alter tumor fatty acid metabolism and the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids.

Theres a lot of evidence that diet can affect how fast your cancer progresses, but this is not a cure, says Dr Matthew Vander Heiden, director of MITs Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and the senior author of the study.

While the findings are provocative, further study is needed, and individual patients should talk to their doctor about the right dietary interventions for their cancer.

Visit link:
Not a cure, but some tumours can be slowed by calorie-restricted diet - The New Daily

While multiple factors can influence and affect the way a child's face and skull develop, such as genetics, nutrition, tongue position, and breathing, chewing is an incredibly critical one. The amount of time spent chewing (and what we are chewing), significantly affects the growth, shape, and position of the jaws.In my work, I've learned that people who tend to eat more processed and refined foods have smaller and often underdeveloped jaws than those who eat traditional diets with foods that require more chewing.

As a pediatric dentist, I know if we catch these issues soon in infancy and early childhood, we have a better chance of getting children back on track with proper facial growth, dental development, and breathing.And one strategy to use when trying to course-correct issues is encouraging families to engage their children in chewing more.

Babies and their growing jaws need stimulus at early ages, as their skeletal systems are very malleable and reactive.Chewing helps to strengthen the jaw muscles and initiate ideal bone development by assisting in laying down the bone matrix, thus allowing the jaw to develop to its fullest potential.

Other factors need to be considered, too, such as mouth breathing and improper tongue position, but working with an airway-focused or functional dentist from early on in your child's life can help you get to the root causes of issues and will offer guidance to get them back on track.

The rest is here:
We've Lost The Art Of Chewing: Why It's Vital To Oral Health & Development - mindbodygreen.com

Over the last few decades, scientists have discovered that long-term calorie restriction provides a wealth of benefits in animals: lower weight, better blood sugar control, even longer lifespans.

Researchers have largely assumed that reduced food intake drove these benefits by reprogramming metabolism. But a new study from University of WisconsinMadison researchers finds that reduced calorie intake alone is not enough; fasting is essential for mice to derive full benefit.

The new findings lend support to preliminary evidence that fasting can boost health in people, as trends like intermittent fasting continue to hold sway. These human and animal studies have added to the growing picture of how health is controlled by when and what we eat, not just how much.

The research further emphasizes the complexity of nutrition and metabolism and provides guidance to researchers trying to untangle the true causes of diet-induced health benefits in animals and humans.

The researchers discovered that, combined with eating less, fasting reduces frailty in old age and extends the lifespan of mice. And fasting alone can improve blood sugar and liver metabolism.

Surprisingly, mice that ate fewer calories but never fasted died younger than mice that ate as much as they wanted, suggesting that calorie restriction alone may be harmful.

The research was led by UW School of Medicine and Public Health metabolism researcher Dudley Lamming, his graduate student Heidi Pak and their colleagues at UWMadison and other institutions. The team published their findings Oct. 18 in Nature Metabolism.

Pak and Lamming were inspired to conduct the study because researchers began to realize that previous studies had unintentionally combined calorie restrictions with long fasts by providing animals with food just once a day. It was difficult, then, to distinguish the effects of one from the other.

This overlap of treatment both reducing calories and imposing a fast was something that everybody saw, but it wasnt always obvious that it had biological significance, says Lamming, who has long studied the effect of restricted diets on metabolism. Its only been in the past few years that people started getting interested in this issue.

To untangle these factors, Lammings group designed four different diets for mice to follow. One group ate as much as they wanted whenever they wanted. Another group ate a full amount, but in a short period of time this gave them a long daily fast without reducing calories.

The other two groups were given about 30% fewer calories either once a day or dispersed over the entire day. That meant that some mice had a long daily fast while others ate the same reduced-calorie diet but never fasted, which differed from most previous studies of calorie restriction.

It turned out that many of the benefits originally ascribed to calorie restriction alone better blood sugar control, healthier use of fat for energy, protection from frailty in old age and longer lifespans all required fasting as well. Mice who ate fewer calories without fasting didnt see these positive changes.

Fasting on its own, without reducing the amount of food eaten, was just as powerful as calorie restriction with fasting. Fasting alone was enough to improve insulin sensitivity and to reprogram metabolism to focus more on using fats as a source of energy. The livers of fasting mice also showed the hallmarks of healthier metabolism.

The researchers did not study the effect of fasting alone on lifespan or frailty as mice aged, but other studies have suggested that fasting can provide these benefits as well.

While the mice that ate fewer calories without ever fasting did show some improved blood sugar control, they also died younger. Compared with mice who both ate less and fasted, these mice that only ate less died about 8 months earlier on average.

That was quite surprising, says Lamming, although other studies have also shown some negative effects from restricting calories. The team also measured frailty through metrics like grip strength and coat condition. In addition to their shorter lifespans, these mice were worse in certain aspects of frailty, but better in others. So, on balance their frailty didnt change much, but they didnt look as healthy.

The primary studies were done in male mice, but Lammings lab also found similar metabolic effects of fasting in female mice.

The research reveals how difficult diet studies are, even in a laboratory environment. That difficulty is magnified for human studies, which simply cant match the level of control possible in animal models. The new study can provide direction to future work trying to answer whether fasting improves human health.

We need to know whether this fasting is required for people to see benefits, Lamming says. If fasting is the main driver of health, we should be studying drugs or diet interventions that mimic fasting rather than those that mimic fewer calories.

This work was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health (grants AG050135, AG051974, AG056771, AG062328, AG061635, DK125859, R37GM059785, P30AG050886, S10OD028739, DK124696, F31 AG066311, T32 AG000213 and T32 DK007665) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (grant I01-BX004031).

The rest is here:
Fasting is required to see the full benefit of calorie restriction in mice - University of Wisconsin-Madison

On Twitter, creators routinely share advice for crash diets and encourage disordered eating, and some amass tens of thousands of followers in the process. Twitters algorithms automatically suggest related accounts and topics for users to follow, based on the accounts they view. When a Twitter user views accounts that promote eating disorders, Twitter recommends topics like fashion models, fitness apps & trackers, mindful eating and workout videos.

Twitter said that its policies prohibit content that promotes eating disorders or provides instructions or strategies for maintaining them, and that the company primarily relies on users to report violative content. A spokeswoman for the company said that its topic recommendations differed by account.

While we remove content that violates our policies on suicide and self harm, we also allow people to share their struggles or seek help, the spokeswoman said.

On Snapchat, users often form group chats dedicated to privately encouraging one another to pursue eating disorders. Some of the chats are focused on providing negative feedback, essentially bullying the participants about not fulfilling their diet goals. Others provide positive feedback.

After an inquiry from The New York Times, Snapchat said it would ban terms related to the group chats from being used in users display names, group chat names and search. The company previously blocked a number of common terms associated with eating disorders and provides suggestions for resources, a spokeswoman said.

Ms. Levina, the TikTok creator, said she did not think she needed to moderate her content to avoid influencing young people to start unhealthy behaviors. Instead, Ms. Levina suggested, teenagers were old enough to understand the information given and decide what to do.

But Dr. Khadijah Booth Watkins, the associate director of the Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital, said that young people are especially impressionable, so content creators should consider that they could be swaying teenagers into making dangerous health choices.

Here is the original post:
Eating Disorders and Social Media Prove Difficult to Untangle - The New York Times