You know when you meet a health care professional and you have that feeling of, “Wow, I love the way they communicate! There’s kindness, clarity, and respect”? I hope you say yes!
Well, my guest on my podcast, and the blog this week is exactly that type of provider. Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani (who is called Dr G by her patients) is an internist, author, and a renowned eating disorder expert.
The podcast released yesterday is titled: Social Media’s Influence on Eating Disorders: Insights from Dr. G.
I highly recommend it for you and any teens in your life. Please also know the conversation and this blog includes discussion of eating disorders, body image, and related experiences, so please read or listen with care. And if you or someone you love is affected by these issues you can find a list of support resources below.
In this blog, I highlight a few key points made by Dr. G, regarding media influences and disordered eating. This goes beyond all the skinny images that abound. Things like “SkinnyTok,” which was recently banned by TikTok but is still omnipresent.
In the pod, you’ll hear some fascinating and very helpful examples of how Dr. Gaudiani talks with teens who are experiencing eating disorders. Listeners will definitely notice that her style of talking with teens applies to all sorts of situations, not just around this topic. Give it a listen to see what I mean.
In the podcast, Dr. Gaudiani talks about how to untangle the nuances behind eating disorders, distinguishing them from disordered eating, which can often affect far more teens. She also talks about the underrecognized problem of compulsive exercise.
Youth are getting all sorts of “health” messages online, but when does what they see and hear start leading them into unhealthy thinking and behaviors?
Dr. G addresses how platforms like TikTok and Instagram often become breeding grounds for harmful practices disguised as wellness tips. These influences can lead teens down a dark path of food restriction and body insecurity, fueled by an incessant cycle of comparison and the desire for acceptance. In the podcast, she says,
“I see teens who find food rules on TikTok who say, ‘Here’s what I eat in a day,’ and they follow some influencer who looks slender, appealing, accomplished — someone giving a series of food rules that are really arbitrary but couched in anti-scientific terms, like, ‘I’m not dieting, I’m just watching my inflammation,’ or ‘I’m not dieting, I just want better energy.’
Inevitably, there’s a meaningfully restrictive aspect to whatever’s being recommended, because that’s what’s being influenced: Do as I do, and you’ll look like me, or have the power that I have.”
She goes on to say:
“It’s when there starts to become an inability to shift off those rules — when the kid starts to get really triggered and anxious and resistant when something else is offered, when eating spontaneously occurs, when something unexpected like, ‘Hey, let’s go out to dinner tonight,’ happens — and they get that clench.
That’s when I would start to say, we need to look a little more into this, ’cause maybe this has got its hooks too deep.”
It’s crucial that we talk with kids, starting even at age 9 or 10, about how tricky it can be to know what is actually healthy information versus unhealthy information. Even if kids don’t have social media per se, many are on YouTube, or their friends are on social media, and that info gets shared in lunchrooms and group chats.
Let me end with one more excellent point Dr. Gaudiani made — a great one to discuss with youth:
“And the truth is, historically, so many so-called food and body influencers fall out of the public eye. A number of them come back later and say, ‘I’m really sorry. I was peddling something that made me so sick.
In my vegan recommendations, in my intensive vegetarian recommendations, I actually had to stop working and tend to my health. So I’m so sorry.’”
National Alliance for Eating Disorders (“The Alliance”)
National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)
Crisis Text Line
The Trevor Project (LGBTQ+ Youth)
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You know when you meet a health care professional and you have that feeling of, “Wow, I love the way they communicate! There’s kindness, clarity, and respect”? I hope you say yes!
Well, my guest on my podcast, and the blog this week is exactly that type of provider. Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani (who is called Dr G by her patients) is an internist, author, and a renowned eating disorder expert.
The podcast released yesterday is titled: Social Media’s Influence on Eating Disorders: Insights from Dr. G.
I highly recommend it for you and any teens in your life. Please also know the conversation and this blog includes discussion of eating disorders, body image, and related experiences, so please read or listen with care. And if you or someone you love is affected by these issues you can find a list of support resources below.
In this blog, I highlight a few key points made by Dr. G, regarding media influences and disordered eating. This goes beyond all the skinny images that abound. Things like “SkinnyTok,” which was recently banned by TikTok but is still omnipresent.
In the pod, you’ll hear some fascinating and very helpful examples of how Dr. Gaudiani talks with teens who are experiencing eating disorders. Listeners will definitely notice that her style of talking with teens applies to all sorts of situations, not just around this topic. Give it a listen to see what I mean.
We often hear about social media’s impact on body image, but what can we learn from someone who’s experienced it firsthand, developing a serious exercise and eating disorder? In today's blog I introduce Isabelle who i'm grateful to for sharing her story with me in our recent conversation.
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We have now entered an entirely new digital paradigm where artificial intelligence is capable of engaging in human-like conversations. This can range from simple interactions with ChatGPT offering writing tips, to full-fledged companion AI bots designed to mimic real conversations, and simulate deep personal relationships — even romantic partners. Since May is Mental Health Awareness Month, it’s the perfect time to talk about AI and mental health with a young person in your life.
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Mental Health Awareness Month is a perfect time to spotlight an often-overlooked topic: the role of families in teen therapy. Today I recall my recent conversation with Dr. Laura Kastner, acclaimed author and experienced family therapist, who shares why therapists should push for family participation, even when a teen resists. I also share a personal moment from Screenagers Next Chapter, when my daughter and I did family therapy together—a powerful reminder of what’s possible.
READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.
