‘So dangerous’: Health experts warn over extreme diet trend
A fad diet growing increasingly popular on social media in recent months has experts warning that following it could lead to an eating disorder or starvation syndrome | Watch the video.
Health experts have warned ‘water fasting’ is the latest incarnation of starvation ideation promoted online, leaving social media giants risking the sting of incoming misinformation legislation.
Videos promoting water fasting or water diets have been distributed widely across the major social media platforms.
The fad grew increasingly popular in recent months and involves going days or weeks relying on nothing but water, sometimes with the exception of tea or black coffee.
It gained traction after some adherents used a ‘before and after’ format to flaunt benefits to skin health and weight loss.
Monash University psychologist Gemma Sharp argued the diet was the latest in a long line of unhealthy eating habits promoted as quick ways to lose weight.
“It’s so dangerous on a lot of physiological and psychological levels. In terms of my specific area of expertise, that level of fasting really does set someone up for an eating disorder and starvation syndrome,” Prof Sharp said.
“It is a very artificial weight loss that people are reporting as success. Athletes use this kind of technique if they are in certain weight classes.
“Martial artists or jockeys, they’ll use this kind of technique. It’s meant for a very short period of time and it is incredibly dangerous. It’s not something to be maintained.”
The federal misinformation and disinformation bill tabled in parliament this week looks set to tackle potentially dangerous health content, and intends to make social platforms culpable for the material posted under their watch.
“As the name suggests, only having water for significant periods of time is not something someone should take on voluntarily,” Prof Sharp said.
“The term fasting might be quite persuasive for people, and I think it’s aligning itself with intermittent fasting.
(But) if you’ve been fasting for several days, you are going to be absolutely ravenous when you return to normal functioning. That lends itself to binge eating episodes, even binge eating disorders.”
Australian representatives for Meta were contacted for comment.
While TikTok directs users searching for water fasting on their program towards eating disorder support services, slight variations in search terms still promote videos of the trend and content spruiking water fasts remain on the platform.
Instagram and YouTube both showcased clips in which experts alleged their medical credentials in order to encourage viewers to take up water fasting.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland denounced “dangerous, unproven health remedies spruiked by social media influencers to make a quick buck” when speaking to The Australian.
“To protect freedom of speech, the bill sets a high threshold for the type of mis- and disinformation that digital platforms must combat on their services,” Ms Rowland said.
“The types of serious harms in the bill are: harm to the operation or integrity of an electoral or referendum process in Australia (and) harm to public health in Australia including to the efficacy of preventive health measures.”
TikTok removed a number of water fasting videos from its platform when alerted to them by The Australian in its request for comment.
“Our policies do not allow content that shows or promotes disordered eating and dangerous weight loss behaviours,” a TikTok spokesperson said.
“We will remove such content where we find it, and we also encourage users to report videos in app.”
A YouTube spokesperson said it tried to “strike the right balance between creating space for community and recovery, while protecting viewers from harmful content”.
For those struggling with unhealthy eating patterns the Butterfly Foundation can be contacted on 1800 33 4673.
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