Wellness culture promises optimum health. New research suggests it might be hiding a bigger risk: disordered eating.

 

Beth Shelton sits down with researcher Ruby Kagan to unpack why. We're used to thinking that visuals of thin bodies online drive the risk of eating disorders. Kagan's research points to something else. The bigger problem is wellness framing itself.

 

Kagan studied "what I eat in a day" and clean eating videos on TikTok. She found that the more "healthy" and admirable a video felt, the less likely viewers were to notice it was actually about food restriction. Often, that restriction was extreme, and not healthy at all.

 

She unpacks what she calls the "aestheticisation of restriction," and how we and our loved ones can protect ourselves from an endless scroll of content that isn't what it seems. You'll hear how wellness can disguise harm, and how to engage with your feed with a more critical eye.

 

Resources

FOLLOW BUTTERFLY'S NEW CAMPAIGN REDEFINING WELLNESS

LEARN MORE ABOUT RUBY KAGAN

NEED SUPPORT? CONTACT THE BUTTERFLY HELPLINE

 

Contact our Helpline

 

Follow Butterfly Foundation on Instagram here

Production Team:
Produced by Beth Shelton and Sam Blacker from The Podcast Butler
Executive Producer: Camilla Becket
Supported by the Waratah Education Foundation

For more information about this episode, visit www.butterfly.org.au/podcast and click through to this episode.

 

If you're concerned about an eating disorder for yourself or someone you care about, please reach out to the Butterfly National Helpline or chat online with one of their specialist counsellors. Recovery is possible with the right support.

 

Wellness culture promises optimum health. New research suggests it might be hiding a bigger risk: disordered eating.
&nbsp;
Beth Shelton sits down with researcher Ruby Kagan to unpack why. We're used to thinking that visuals of thin bodies online drive the risk of eating disorders. Kagan's research points to something else. The bigger problem is wellness framing itself.
&nbsp;
Kagan studied "what I eat in a day" and clean eating videos on TikTok. She found that the more "healthy" and admirable a video felt, the less likely viewers were to notice it was actually about food restriction. Often, that restriction was extreme, and not healthy at all.
&nbsp;
She unpacks what she calls the "aestheticisation of restriction," and how we and our loved ones can protect ourselves from an endless scroll of content that isn't what it seems. You'll hear how wellness can disguise harm, and how to engage with your feed with a more critical eye.
&nbsp;
Resources
<a href="https://butterfly.org.au/get-involved/campaigns/biedaw-2026/">FOLLOW BUTTERFLY'S NEW CAMPAIGN REDEFINING WELLNESS</a>
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruby-kagan-388281218/">LEARN MORE ABOUT RUBY KAGAN</a>
<a href="https://butterfly.org.au/get-support/helpline/">NEED SUPPORT? CONTACT THE BUTTERFLY HELPLINE</a>
&nbsp;
<a href="https://butterfly.org.au/get-support/helpline/">Contact our Helpline</a>
&nbsp;
Follow Butterfly Foundation on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thebutterflyfoundation/?hl=en">here</a>
Production Team:
<ul>
<li>Produced by Beth Shelton and Sam Blacker from The Podcast Butler</li>
<li>Executive Producer: Camilla Becket</li>
<li>Supported by the Waratah Education Foundation</li>
</ul>
For more information about this episode, visit <a href="http://www.butterfly.org.au/podcast">www.butterfly.org.au/podcast</a> and click through to this episode.
&nbsp;
If you're concerned about an eating disorder for yourself or someone you care about, please reach out to the <a href="https://butterfly.org.au/get-support/helpline/">Butterfly National Helpline</a> or chat online with one of their specialist counsellors. Recovery is possible with the right support.
&nbsp;

This is Let's Talk from the Butterfly Foundation. Join your host, Yvie Jones, as we explore living with body image issues and eating disorders.

This is Let's Talk from the Butterfly Foundation. Join your host, Yvie Jones, as we explore living with body image issues and eating disorders.

Butterfly: Let's Talk

This is Let's Talk Body Image and Eating Disorders from the Butterfly Foundation, your national voice for all people affected, now hosted by Dr Beth Shelton, a counselling psychologist with 30 years supporting people with lived experience and their loved ones, while also shaping services, training clinicians, and bringing her signature wisdom and warmth to many national leadership roles.

This is Let's Talk Body Image and Eating Disorders from the Butterfly Foundation, your national voice for all people affected, now hosted by Dr Beth Shelton, a counselling psychologist with 30 years supporting people with lived experience and their loved ones, while also shaping services, training clinicians, and bringing her signature wisdom and warmth to many national leadership roles.