Eating disorders remain a health concern for many

Many people across the globe developed an obsession with unhealthy eating disorders during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, according to the New York Times, when the pandemic began, many people were also inspired to start their fitness and health journeys.

With the rise of diet and exercise trends on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, a number of people became dependent on their exercise routines.

Social media exercise challenges have grown tremendously during the COVID-19 lockdown when access to gyms and other exercise facilities were inaccessible. US News wrote that there are many popular, yet dangerous diet trends circling social media platforms. Some of these trends include “What I Eat in a Day”, “The Chloe Ting: Get ABS in 2 Weeks”, and “75Hard”. 

The challenge that is currently trending on the internet is the 75Hard challenge. According to an article by Cosmopolitan, the 75Hard is an exercise challenge that was introduced by someone known as “Frisella”, who is not a certified trainer, dietitian, or licensed clinical therapist. He first mentioned it on his podcast, Real AF in 2019, suggesting that it is a way to better your life and lose weight.

His basic rules for the challenge are:

• Follow a diet. He does not specify a diet but does not allow alcohol or “cheat meals” throughout the 75 days.
• Work out twice a day for at least 45 minutes. One of these workouts must be an outdoor session, although it’s not explained why.
• Drink 4 liters of water per day.
• Read 10 pages of nonfiction a day.
• Take a 5-minute cold shower.
• Take progress photos every day.

A blog post by the Coat of Arms showcased what Covid-19 social media workout trends can do to a person. The writer of the blog, Kaylie Wu, said that unhealthy weight loss trends were all over her TikTok algorithms during the pandemic. This led to her developing a body image disorder, which later turned into more serious eating disorder problems.

A dietitian’s view

Annika Möller, a registered dietitian, said that social media adds tremendously to the pressure of having a body that is accepted by society. She defined an eating disorder as “a persistent disturbance of eating or eating-related behaviours that impair physical or psycho-social health.” Möller said that an eating disorder is an unhealthy, and even deadly, relationship with food and body image, combined with mental illness. 

Möller added that in this day and age, triggers are “everywhere”. The exercise challenges, like the “75Hard” challenge, found on social media platforms during the pandemic, can be seen as one of these triggers. According to Möller, cultural settings that value slender figures, including influence from social media, is a big trigger that leads people to develop eating disorders. 

Möller said that signs of an eating disorder are not always evident without a proper clinical assessment and that it differs depending on the type of eating disorder someone has. She said that if you suspect that someone you know is suffering from a type of eating disorder, there are a few visible signs that occur over a period of time. 

People with an eating disorder view a meal differently than those without an eating disorder. People without an eating disorder sees a meal as depicted on the left side, while someone with an eating disorder sees a meal as depicted on the right side. JUXTAPOSE AND PHOTO’S: Chanté du Plessis

These signs, according to Möller, include “big weight loss in a short period of time and an obsession with their weight”, as well as an unhealthy obsession with food and eating, and constantly over exercising and undereating. 

A psychologist’s view

Mareli Santana, a clinical psychologist, said that a person with an eating disorder is often internally distracted and preoccupied, which can lead to difficulty focusing on studies or work. Santana said, “eating disorders commonly occur along with mood and anxiety disorders”.

She said that someone with an eating disorder may go to great lengths to ensure that they stick to their meal plan or exercise routine, and that they “may avoid anything that might interfere with this”.

An eating disorder will influence the day-to-day life of a person, since everyday things, like going out for lunch with friends, or going away on holiday, can cause a lot of anxiety and stress for someone with an eating disorder. “[It can] cause them to avoid such activities altogether,” Santana said. 

“Society celebrates thinness, weight loss, and fitness, without considering the, at times harmful and excessive behaviours, that sometimes lead to people reaching their body goals,” Santana said. She said that in the age of social media, the unrealistic expectations of what one can achieve in terms of changing one’s body are contributing to the body image disorders experienced by many.

Santana indicated that one’s direct environment plays a big role in how someone observes their body. “Exposure to criticism or being bullied over one’s body type or appearance”, said Santana, are some of the triggers that could lead to someone developing a body image disorder, or eating disorder.  

A personal trainer’s view

Alwyn De Beer, a personal trainer at Planet Fitness in Potchefstroom, said that the point of an exercise challenge is to make you try out new exercises in a certain amount of time and that it should not be seen as a sustainable workout in the long run. “People who take part in these challenges regress very quickly thereafter,” said De Beer. 

“I don’t believe these challenges will be sustainable in the long run because of all the limitations,” said De Beer. 

De Beer also said that an exercise challenge can be valuable if you are looking for something that will “kickstart” your fitness journey. According to De Beer, when people do not see immediate results or are not able to complete a challenge found on social media, for instance, it leads to frustration. “This leads to them giving up on their fitness journey or they jump around from challenge to challenge, still not achieving what they wanted to in the first place,” said De Beer.

De Beer said that with challenges like the “75Hard” or “Get ABS in 2 Weeks”, some may easily reach great results, but not everyone will because of the different body types. He also said that other factors, like genetics, must also be taken into consideration.

With regards to the possibility of these challenges leading to exercise obsessions or restrictive eating, De Beer said that if someone approaches it with the right mindset – which is to challenge yourself – there is no harm, but that does not mean that overdoing it will not lead to some kind of disorder. “Self-image is one of the biggest reasons people do weight loss or improvement challenges,” said De Beer. 

Real-life experiences

Danicke du Plessis (21), a North-West university (NWU) BEd student who has had issues with her body image in the past, said that all social media health and fitness pages showcase skinny models with “perfect bodies”, which can make someone who does not follow such a lifestyle, respond very negative. Du Plessis said that exercise challenges are portrayed as positive, while in reality, a person is not inclined to be in the mood to exercise every day.

“Social media is such a big thing in today’s society, so you cannot really help but look at it,” Du Plessis said. She also indicated that recently these social media pages have become more inclusive and have turned to showing other body types as well.

Cameron Blaauw (21), NWU BEd student and another person who has suffered from body image issues, said she “struggles to accept her body” at times when she is not her desired weight goal. “When I see I gained weight, I get really depressed and feel bad about myself,” Blaauw said.

Blaauw further said that she had gone through periods in her life where she would only eat a couple of fruits or vegetables a day, where some days she would avoid eating entirely because she felt uncomfortable with her body. “Some days when I binge eat, I would eat nothing the next day because I feel bad,” she said.

A source who has recovered from an eating disorder and who would like to remain anonymous said that living with an eating disorder is one of the hardest things they had to overcome. They said, “You wake up each day and all you can think about is how to survive without having to put anything into your mouth.” – By Anchen Coetzee and Chanté du Plessis