From Filters to Feed: How AI and Social Media Distort Body Image | ANEW Insight Ep. 124

 In this deeply thought-provoking second half of our conversation, Dr. Supatra Tovar sits down once again with Dr. Tatyana El-Kour, Senior Psychology Research Fellow and Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist, to unpack one of the most urgent issues of our time: how artificial intelligence, social media algorithms, and digital culture are reshaping our relationship with food, body image, and self-worth.

Building on Part One, this episode exposes how the constant flood of “What I Eat in a Day” videos, filtered selfies, and algorithm-driven trends are fueling disordered eating, anxiety, and body dissatisfaction—especially among teens and young adults. Dr. El-Kour explains how social media has transformed food from a source of nourishment into a symbol of identity, comparison, and validation, where likes, shares, and streaks define self-esteem.

Together, Dr. Tovar and Dr. El-Kour explore the dark intersection between diet culture and AI-driven platforms, revealing how predictive algorithms amplify obsession rather than balance. They discuss how weight-loss medications like GLP-1 agonists (Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro) are being misused as “quick fixes” promoted through social media—while creating dangerous psychological dependence and physical side effects like malnutrition, gastroparesis, and emotional burnout.

Listeners will gain insight into how technology’s reward systems exploit our emotions—rewarding content that provokes anxiety, shame, or obsession—and how that cycle can normalize disordered behaviors. Dr. Tovar highlights why returning to body trust, intuitive eating, and internal cues is essential for healing, and how childhood lessons of listening to hunger, honoring fullness, and eating mindfully can restore hormonal balance and self-compassion.

The episode also investigates how AI-generated filters and virtual reality avatars distort self-perception, creating a dangerous split between online identity and real-life embodiment. Dr. El-Kour shares practical, evidence-based ways to protect mental health online, from leading with curiosity instead of control to modeling joy, cultural pride, and connection over perfection.

Together, they issue a call to action for researchers, clinicians, educators, and policymakers: design ethical, diverse, user-centered technologies that support emotional and physical well-being instead of exploiting vulnerability. This powerful dialogue reveals how science, psychology, and compassion can reclaim technology as a force for health rather than harm.

If you’ve ever compared your meals, your body, or your worth to what you see online—this episode is your reminder that your health and self-esteem deserve freedom from algorithms.

🎧 Listen now on ANEW Insight Podcast, available on all streaming platforms.
 Explore Dr. Tovar’s work at ANEW-Insight.com and her best-selling book, Deprogram Diet Culture: Rethink Your Relationship with Food, Heal Your Mind, and Live a Diet-Free Life.

 #aiandbodyimage, #socialmediaandeatingdisorders, #dietcultureandtechnology

Thank you for joining us on this journey to wellness. Remember, the insights and advice shared on the ANEW Body Insight Podcast are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before making any changes to your health routine. To learn more about the podcast and stay updated on new episodes, visit ANEW Body Insight Podcast at anew-insight.com. To watch this episode on YouTube, visit @my.anew.insight. Follow us on social media at @my.anew.insight on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads for more updates and insights. Thank you for tuning in! Stay connected with us for more empowering stories and expert guidance. Until next time, stay well and keep evolving with ANEW Body Insight!

Transcript

0:00 dr--supatra-tovar_2_09-10-2025_113424: 0:01

So, uh, you know, we were talking about this a little bit in our last half, but so many young people are immersed in social media and from a very early age and not to age myself, but I did not grow up with social media and I am actually pretty glad I didn't. How do you see these platforms influencing the relationship with food, body image, and self worth? You have Korean students even showcasing some, you know, kima. Or Mexican youth highlighting tortillas, but other, uh, you know, internalized even impossible ideals. So research shows us that social media exposes, uh, or exposure raises, body dissatisfaction and disordered eating risk among adolescents. So while this is, uh, uh, a measure not for nourishment, it's meant for culture and pride and self-worth, the, the self-worth stems more from the interaction with media.

dr-tatyana-el-kour_2_09-10-2025_213424: 0:03

So I think with body image and self-worth, we need really need to look into the, the, the backing of a, of a person. If, if if people, some people are prone to eating disorders more than others, the vulnerability piece comes into play and also the cultural piece comes into play. So the contextual, the context matters. Or how do you abuse medicine? Or how can you mix and match some medicines in order not to get fat, but to manage your psychology and also your mood, uh, without food, um, irrespective of whatever trend you are exposed to, there are groups that would magnify that. So again, people, viewers are immersed in that culture and they are triggered again and again without really feeling satisfied. So with, again, with that piece is. Again, the exposure is increasing the internalization, so they're not satisfied with what they continue to see. They want to see even more horrific episodes, and that would lead them into another phase of, uh, of, of the disorder. Yes, yes, absolutely. There's a huge abuse even on the medication access. And, and I think the key, the key thing here is, you know, we, we've discussed how, how algorithms work. You know, they, they basically, they, they watch your behavior, they monitor it, but then the algorithms also amplify whatever steers the strongest feelings. There's a lot of personal aspects, so some of them have had, uh, issues with, uh, with thyroid cancer. Some others had issues with the paralysis, stomach paralysis. Some others were admitted to the ICU and even some others have actually taken it and didn't feel any difference. Nothing is working. So I'm a failure. And then we go back to that, to that, uh, to that track. So the. That level of satisfaction, dissatisfaction can also be, be triggered, and it's also further amplified with with technology because if you are portraying a feeling of anxiety or shame or blame that this didn't work with me, all what you are going to get is the obsession around the GLP one. So you look at the, you know, um, current diet trend of the very high animal protein, low carbohydrate diet, which we've seen over and over again in the research, does not lead to lasting weight loss. It leads to only to short term weight loss, but then you have long term complications from over consuming animal protein. That recommendation is also taken into these weight loss medications, where the emphasis that I see everywhere is you gotta just eat as much protein as you can. But when they're on these medications, they don't want to eat. So they're trying to force themselves to eat. They're doing whatever they can. So it's very frightening for me to see what's happening, uh, with these weight loss medications. And in fact, in a couple weeks, I'm gonna deliver a TED talk about what we're seeing right now, uh, in diet culture with the difficulties in weight loss medications. I would love to hear from you, what's a way forward away from that? And so obsessive tracking is you often linked to anxiety or to guilt, or even to the disordered eating pieces or to the obsession on medications. So tools should highlight balance. Giving variety, giving, including energy and sleep, what counts, you know, where the science that counts for a lifestyle change and not, you know, punish users with the perfection, like, or the, the trick that you really got to have this medication or have this GLP GLP one. And as I mentioned, um, you know, the algorithms tingle your emotions. So they, they track them, they target them. And so those folks or people are really emotional about their weight. That's why they resort to weight man to weight medications, and they're not satisfied by what they are seeing or viewing. So they look for that sub, that emotional, uh, satisfaction is coming from, from, from technology and from tracking those medications, from giving them that promise. And then as they take it, it, it, it builds that kind of obsession and without realizing the implications. Uh, so I think this is very critical for us that when, when, when we talk about weight, not to forget the emotional dimension, but also not to forget how people interact with technology and media and how their, their emotion and cognition is, is manifested through that interaction and then address that piece before discussing what are the pros and cons of those medications. And you'll be surprised how people will really respond to that. They will understand better and now they are better. Once they're better informed, they are more able to actually actively listen to, okay, give me the pros and cons.

dr--supatra-tovar_2_09-10-2025_113424: 0:13

Right. I think. That we have really become conditioned to seek external solutions for our health. And I think that that's come from a variety of different sources. It comes from our medical community, it comes from pharmaceutical industry, it comes from the social media. And I think one pathway forward that we just have forgotten about, but we were really good about when we were children is that we would listen to our bodies when we were children and we were intuitively in tuned in to our internal cues, which includes our hormones. So we would hear our stomach growling and go, oh, okay, I'm hungry. And we usually would be able to satisfy that hunger. And I think as kids, we were much more mindful when we were eating. We would enjoy what we were eating and so maybe we're eating a little bit slower and we were able to tell when we were no longer hungry, that actually kept us in hormonal balance and home homeostasis. That's what I also suggest to people is. Really don't be afraid of your hunger. I think that these weight loss medications have touted hunger as something that's bad. It is so important, uh, for our hormonal balance that we actually honor our hunger and we eat slow enough that we can really understand when we're full. Right. I think. That we have really become conditioned to seek external solutions for our health. And I think that that's come from a variety of different sources. It comes from our medical community, it comes from pharmaceutical industry, it comes from the social media. And I think one pathway forward that we just have forgotten about, but we were really good about when we were children is that we would listen to our bodies when we were children and we were intuitively in tuned in to our internal cues, which includes our hormones. So we would hear our stomach growling and go, oh, okay, I'm hungry. And we usually would be able to satisfy that hunger. And I think as kids, we were much more mindful when we were eating. We would enjoy what we were eating and so maybe we're eating a little bit slower and we were able to tell when we were no longer hungry, that actually kept us in hormonal balance and home homeostasis. That's what I also suggest to people is. Really don't be afraid of your hunger. I think that these weight loss medications have touted hunger as something that's bad. It is so important, uh, for our hormonal balance that we actually honor our hunger and we eat slow enough that we can really understand when we're full. Because when we're balanced hormonally, that's when our body's in an actual. State where you can possibly lose weight. You're not stressed. You're not in your sympathetic nervous system, you're in your parasympathetic serv nervous system, your body digests food more easily. So I think it's also a return to really kind of trusting ourselves and trusting what's happening inside of our bodies. So I wanna pivot a little, and it's, it's in the same vein, but let's talk about these nutrition and fitness apps. They use calorie tracking and constant data monitoring. Do you see these tools unintentionally fuel eating patterns? And that, again, that brings me back to the studies that show that obsessive tracking is linked to anxiety, to guilt, and also to disordered eating symptoms. And so that, that's where the tools should really, um, do the trick. They should highlight the balance, the variety, the energy, the sleep, or any other aspect related to whatever content people are watching to, to punish. So not to punish users, but with perfection, but to bring in the, the balance and to bring in the science. And so I think one of the key things that I'm as a risk, you know, we've talked a lot about how we deal with the patients or with clients, but we didn't really discuss where are the scientists in this, in this ecosystem.

dr-tatyana-el-kour_2_09-10-2025_213424: 0:17

So science is often absent in those feeds, for example, related to GLP one or to any, uh, medication, uh, weight loss medications. So I've mentioned intermittent fasting, for example. You see a lot of reels on intermittent fasting when you know, but new research shows when you practice it in extreme ways, it's linked to higher risk of death and, and, uh, of early death and, and, uh, heart disease. One person I absolutely love is, uh, Dr. Michael Grieger, who has nutrition facts.org. And I, I encourage people to go there because he is, um, very, uh, diligent. Picking through science and looking for scientific rigor and bringing forth the, the best evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle information. And we just need more people like that who are really interested in improving people's health.

dr--supatra-tovar_2_09-10-2025_113424: 0:19

trying to bring forth science. So I think, know. Be discerning everybody with what you're seeing online and maybe investigate a little bit more. Try to find out if this is an actual scientific fact or if this is just some misinformation put out there. my gosh, there's so much I wanna ask you. So, um, you know, we're seeing a lot of what I eat in a day videos. Let's talk about that, uh, with these food related influencers. We've talked a little bit about, you know, ones that eat, you know, great portions, but what about the ones that are, you know, just showing these like little micro portions of what they're eating. How does that impact eating behaviors, especially among impressionable people?

dr-tatyana-el-kour_2_09-10-2025_213424: 0:20

for people. However, if it is not really culturally relevant, it's gonna strip away, it strip people away from, from their own culture. So whatever it is, whatever content, it's what you eat on a given day. AI creates the tunnels. So it could be for, so a single click on what you eat a a day can flood the feed with extreme versions of those diets of what people could eat on, on a given day, and, and then it is fed. The system is fed by emotions like, you know, you're giving hearts, you're giving likes or even anxious pauses, and it tells the system whether to keep the content going or to show you other content. Yeah, sure, of course. So, uh, I tend to, so my, my morning is a very traditional Arabic uh, morning. So I would have, uh, eggs and I would have milk, and I would have a version of either a white cheese or a, with, with some olive oil and, and some bread. So that's a typical, uh, kind of breakfast for me. Um. Uh, and then, uh, I would have in, in two or three hours, I would have a snack, normally a fruit, uh, and that would be followed by, again, a traditional lunch with family, which normally is comprised of either a bread or a rice with a stew or a vegetables cooked with either meat or chicken, or if it is, uh, a vegetarian or a vegan day, it could be chickpeas or, or, or lentils or even, uh, or beans. And then, um. And then it could be followed by, uh, uh, a, you know, in, in few hours time. It could be followed by a fruit or followed by, uh, some sweet Arabic sweet. And it doesn't have to have the sugar by the way, but it's, uh, a pudding. For example, a milk-based pudding, or it could be, uh, kind of a custard, uh, based, uh, version. So it's really interesting to hear, and I love to hear the, you know, cultural foods at play and how they're integrated, uh, along with, you know having your meals with your family and, they, because I mean, creating that ideal, I mean, the filters, the way that the women, the children, even teens or children are looking at themselves. I'm seeing a lot of body in acceptance. You know, this is not me when I look at myself without a filter. So, so that is, uh, and that is creating havoc because even with the filters, you're, you're seeing yourself as beautiful, but without them, you cannot present yourself. So you really need to notice how you are behaving and how others are behaving, how it's making them feel. And then discuss that and talk more about what is really normal and what has been superimposed images or even created in virtual reality norms when you come back to reality and you realize it's, it's, it's basically not, not it. So it's important to really be vigilant about how you express your emotions online Uh, I think they can educate. I mean, they have to be educated first, so that's number one. And I, I, I think leadership is critical and we should really be focused not on a top-down approach, but on a collaborative approach or a co-creation approach, a co-design approach using the user-centered design to support the decision making and also using data. For example, when you use, um. If you use, for example, AI to support, uh, you know, nudges and timed nudges on seasonality, on prices, or even on weather and, and, and emotions, and tie that to eating patterns or to availability of foods and budgeting. It can help people make better decisions around, around, uh, around their food and also around their culture and around the availability for the eating disorder piece obviously is celebrating is, is creating that culture of celebration and embracement, using those nudges versus, versus the narrative of the beauty ideals of the one quick fix and also of the obsessive, uh, you know, feeding that obsession versus breaking the cycle of obsession. So if we want to break the cycle of, uh, of obsession or even of the, of the technology tracking, we have to use the breaks, the filters. So every three times you are exposed to this content, you have to have a message that tells you.

dr--supatra-tovar_2_09-10-2025_113424: 0:30

at play there. And so you'd have a lot of pushback. But I really think that policy makers, uh, politicians, they should be aware of this and, you know, helping to make social media, um, advertising all of these things safer to people rather than harmful. So that free resource guide will be come available on my website, uh, very soon. So I look forward to updates on, on that as well, and also to engaging people around, around that. I really hope to see you next time. Bye everybody.