The Myth of “Wellness Culture”: How Your Fasts, Detoxes, and Algorithm Might Be The Problem

In honor of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, let’s to shed light on something increasingly concerning in our modern digital landscape: the subtle, often unrecognized forms of disordered eating that masquerade as "wellness" or "healthy lifestyle choices."

While traditional eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia are increasingly recognized in clinical settings, many people struggle with problematic eating behaviors that fly under the radar. These behaviors don't always meet the clinical threshold for a diagnosed eating disorder but can still significantly impact physical health, emotional wellbeing, and quality of life.

The Wellness Paradox

The rise of wellness culture promised to free us from diet culture's harmful grip. Instead, for many, it's merely repackaged the same restrictive ideologies with more appealing terminology. What was once "I'm on a diet" has transformed into "I'm just eating clean" or "I'm listening to my body"—phrases that sound empowering but often disguise the same old restrictive patterns.

Research published in the *International Journal of Eating Disorders* suggests that the language of wellness can sometimes serve as a socially acceptable cover for disordered eating behaviors (Ambwani et al., 2019). When restriction is rebranded as "detoxing" or "resetting," it becomes harder to identify problematic patterns.

The Digital Influence

Social media has dramatically transformed how information about food, nutrition, and bodies spreads. The average person now consumes more content about food and exercise in a single day than previous generations might have encountered in months.

The Rise of "Wellness Influencers"

Wellness influencers—those perfectly curated accounts showing "what I eat in a day" videos and transformation photos—have become central figures in many people's digital lives. While some provide genuinely helpful content, others promote highly restrictive eating patterns under the guise of health.

A 2022 content analysis of popular wellness accounts found that 76% promoted some form of food restriction, whether eliminating entire food groups, promoting fasting regimens, or suggesting "cleanses" (Turner & Lefevre, 2022). The study also found that only 8% of these influencers had any formal qualifications in nutrition or dietetics.

These influencers sell not just products but lifestyles—ones that often center around elaborate food rules, expensive supplements, and time-consuming practices that may serve as socially acceptable forms of food preoccupation.

Sneaky Signs of Disordered Eating

Let's explore some of the less obvious ways disordered eating presents itself in today's wellness-obsessed world:

1. Orthorexia: When "Healthy Eating" Goes Too Far

Orthorexia, though not yet formally recognized in the DSM-5, describes an unhealthy obsession with "correct" or "pure" eating. Unlike anorexia, which focuses primarily on quantity, orthorexia fixates on food quality and perceived purity.

Warning signs include:

- Spending excessive time researching, planning, and worrying about food

- Experiencing intense guilt or anxiety after eating foods deemed "unhealthy"

- Progressive elimination of food groups in pursuit of an ever-purer diet

- Social isolation due to rigid eating requirements

Dr. Steven Bratman, who coined the term "orthorexia" in 1997, observed that "as orthorexia progresses, a day filled with green juice, quinoa, and kale can come to feel as holy as a day spent volunteering at a soup kitchen" (Bratman, 2017). The moral value assigned to food choices becomes a central feature of one's identity and self-worth.

2. The Illusion of Health Through Food Tracking and Biohacking

Tracking apps, once designed as tools for general health awareness, have evolved into something more problematic for many users. Research from the University of Pittsburgh found that among young adults who used food tracking apps, 73% reported behaviors consistent with disordered eating (Levinson et al., 2021).

"Biohacking" communities, which emphasize optimization of bodily functions through careful manipulation of inputs, can sometimes foster obsessive behaviors around food. When eating becomes a data-driven exercise in optimization rather than a nurturing, pleasurable act, the relationship with food can become strained and mechanical.

3. The "Wellness Diet" in Disguise

Christy Harrison, registered dietitian and author of "Anti-Diet," defines what she calls "The Wellness Diet" as "a set of eating rules that changes over time, but always consists of restricting or eliminating certain foods or food groups in the name of health" (Harrison, 2019).

This manifests in trends like:

- **Elimination protocols**: Removing entire food groups without medical necessity

- **Clean eating**: Moralizing food as "clean" versus "dirty"

- **Intermittent fasting**: Often practiced not for genuine health benefits but as a socially acceptable way to restrict intake

- **Detoxes and cleanses**: Suggesting the body needs external help to remove "toxins" despite lacking scientific support

4. Exercise as Punishment, Not Pleasure

Exercise should be joyful movement that celebrates what bodies can do. However, in wellness culture, it often becomes transactional—a way to "earn" food or "make up for" eating.

Signs of problematic exercise relationships include:

- Exercising despite illness, injury, or exhaustion

- Intense anxiety when unable to work out

- Calculating exactly how much exercise "cancels out" certain foods

- Using terminology like "burning off" meals

Research from the *Journal of Health Psychology* indicates that people who exercise primarily for weight control or appearance report higher levels of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors than those who exercise for enjoyment or health (Prichard & Tiggemann, 2020).

5. The Language of Restriction

Listen closely to how people talk about food and notice phrases like:

- "I'm being good today"

- "I've earned this treat"

- "I need to get back on track"

- "That's too many carbs/calories/points"

This language reveals the moralization of eating and the underlying belief that certain foods require justification or compensation.

Digital Culture and Food Anxiety

The digital world has created new fertile ground for disordered eating to flourish:

Algorithmic Reinforcement

Social media algorithms quickly learn what content engages users. If someone interacts with posts about diet, fitness, or body transformation, the algorithm serves more similar content, creating a self-reinforcing bubble that normalizes restrictive behaviors.

A 2023 study by Stanford University researchers found that users who engaged with wellness content on TikTok received increasingly extreme diet and exercise recommendations over time, creating what researchers called "a rabbit hole effect of escalating restriction" (Chen et al., 2023).

"What I Eat in a Day" Culture

These wildly popular videos typically showcase low-calorie, aesthetically pleasing meals that rarely represent adequate nutrition. Researchers have found that 87% of such videos demonstrate caloric intake below estimated energy requirements for the creators' apparent age, gender, and activity level (Tolentino & Mabe, 2021).

These videos create unrealistic expectations about appropriate food intake and normalize undereating as aspirational.

Recognizing the Warning Signs

How can you tell if wellness practices have crossed into disordered territory? Consider these questions:

- Does your eating cause you significant distress or anxiety?

- Do you experience guilt or shame after eating certain foods?

- Have your food rules led to social isolation?

- Do you find it difficult to eat at restaurants or others' homes due to food restrictions?

- Has your list of "acceptable" foods grown increasingly narrow?

- Do you spend excessive time planning, thinking about, or worrying about food?

- Is food taking up mental space that used to be occupied by other interests?

If you answered yes to several questions, it may be worth exploring these patterns with a qualified healthcare professional.

Finding Balance in an Unbalanced World

True wellness embraces flexibility, pleasure, and connection—not rigid rules or moral judgments about food. Here are some steps toward a more balanced relationship with food:

1. Diversify Your Digital Diet

Intentionally curate your social media to include diverse bodies, non-diet approaches to health, and content unrelated to food and fitness. Research shows that exposure to body-diverse imagery improves body satisfaction and reduces disordered eating risk (Cohen et al., 2019).

2. Question the Credentials

Before taking nutrition advice from social media figures, check their qualifications. Registered dietitians complete extensive education and clinical training, while "nutritionists" or "health coaches" may have limited or no formal training depending on the jurisdiction.

3. Reconnect With Internal Cues

Learning to recognize and honor hunger, fullness, and satisfaction signals can help counter external food rules. Intuitive eating approaches have been shown to improve both psychological and physiological markers of health (Tribole & Resch, 2020).

4. Seek Evidence-Based Information

Look for nutrition information backed by peer-reviewed research rather than personal anecdotes or before/after transformations. Remember that nutrition science is complex and rarely supports extreme approaches.

5. Consider Professional Support

If food feels increasingly complicated or anxiety-provoking, consider working with professionals trained in eating disorders and disordered eating—therapists, registered dietitians, and physicians who specialize in this area can provide invaluable support.

Moving Forward

National Eating Disorder Awareness Week reminds us that recovery and prevention require both individual and cultural change. By becoming more aware of the subtle ways disordered eating permeates wellness culture, we can begin to build more sustainable, compassionate approaches to nourishment.

Remember: the healthiest relationship with food is one that supports physical wellbeing while also allowing for flexibility, social connection, cultural traditions, and pleasure. No diet promising perfect health through perfect eating can deliver on that promise—because health encompasses so much more than the foods we eat or avoid.

If you're struggling with food-related anxiety, restriction, or control issues, please know that support is available. Reaching out is a sign of strength, not weakness, and recovery is possible at any point in your journey.