Is Your Instagram Feed Making You fat?
Traditional media has played a large role in shaping female’s perceptions of health and body image, since practically the dawn of time. Thin models are perceived as the pinnacle of health and beauty, and those who don’t fit this criteria are excluded. However, through the affordances of Instagram, a community of women have been able to claim back their perceptions and promote a different vision of health and beauty: one that is based around loving your body.
Unsurprisingly, this community is called the body acceptance movement and is currently receiving a lot of attention. However, this said attention is not on the increased inclusivity, but on how it is contributing to the obesity epidemic. Now, is this concern warranted or is it mainstream media’s attempt at getting society back on board, with their designed beauty standards? Is your Instagram feed really feeding you into obesity?
The body acceptance movement shares encouraging images through an array of hashtags such as #bodypositivity, #bodyacceptance, #nobodyshame. In addition, there are a few women who are viewed as role models within the community, and have amassed a large following through sharing these messages. If you are looking for any body positivity accounts, I recommend @chessieking. She is a great example of living a balanced healthy lifestyle whilst also accepting and loving your own body. As a nutrition science student, this side of the body positivity movement is what I support. Living a healthy balanced lifestyle where you are not restricted by an unhealthy mindset about food or your body. However, some influential figures are promoting alarming messages that I believe do promote unhealthy lifestyle choices.
Obesity and Health
Obesity is a massive issue within modern society, and it is only increasing. It is a precursor for a vast amount of diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes. It is straining healthcare systems globally, in Australia the indirect and direct cost of obesity is $56.6 billion. Due to its vast effect and continuous growth, many individuals try to find something to blame for the obesity epidemic, with the body acceptance movement being the next target. One study thinks rightfully so.
A study titled Normalization of Plus Size and the Danger of Unseen Overweight and Obesity in England found that the normalization of obesity has become widespread in England and is worsening with the proliferation of plus-sized clothing and images. However, many disagree with the study. Yoni Freedhoff, medical director of the Bariatric Medical Institute at the University of Ottawa, says: “It’s [a] striking example of stretching the data to fit a presupposed opinion”. While continued research into the Instagram body positivity movement is necessary, there are similar studies and incidents that give credence to “your Instagram Feed is Making You Fat”.
Tess Holiday and The Power Of Instagram Influencers
Tess Holliday is an icon within the movement who receives a lot of attention. I believe that Tess is beautiful however she exemplifies how the body confidence movement can be misused. She’s crossed the line from exemplifying that everyone should love themselves at any size, to the dangerous side of normalising an extremely unhealthy lifestyle. She has made statements that make it seem that loosing weight when obese is a bad thing stating “I feel guilty saying I eat well and that I’m active”, and also has been found to unfollow those who have posted weight loss transformations. She has demonised those who inform others about the health risks of obesity,and consistently insists that you can be healthy whilst morbidly obese. Generally disregarding that obesity is a precursor for the vast amounts of disease previously stated. I think this spread of misinformation is what the real issue is, not the acceptance of one’s body.
Research has found that higher Instagram usage reinforced orthorexia, an eating disorder where an individual is obsessed with healthy eating. Although on the other side of the spectrum, Tess’s messages (and similar influencers) does have affect on her large following and I believe that her focus on promoting that obesity is ‘healthy’ is wrong. This can cause people to justify and continue their unhealthy eating habits and lifestyle.
Overall I do believe that our Instagram feed can influence our health choices. When your feed is filled with influencers that spread misinformation it can negatively affect your health. However I don’t think that the body positivity movement itself should be demonised.
