“What I Eat in a Day” Videos Need to Stop

By now most people are familiar with TikTok, and have probably watched a fair share of “What I Eat in a Day” videos. This trend, while also popular on Youtube, has blown up over the past year on TikTok as influencers, or just everyday people, post the foods they eat throughout the day. At first watch it might not seem overly problematic, maybe even interesting to some. After all, it can be a good way to try fun new recipes or meal prep ideas. However, these videos can be extremely harmful for those watching behind the screen. 

Diet culture and restrictive eating have impacted so many people's relationships with food, and these videos are only adding to that negativity, but this time advertising it to an even younger audience. While some of these videos truly can be helpful, the vast majority are causing more harm than good and are not something that should be posted. 

One person's diet cannot be compared to others. We all have different bodies and live different lives. Promoting these videos can depict unrealistic expectations around body image. People may try to copy what these “influencers” eat in the hopes that they will be able to change their body to look like that, which is simply not healthy or realistic. It is naive to think that most creators are being truthful about what they are posting and actually eating. 

Regardless, these eating habits are usually unattainable for the vast majority and instead of truly promoting healthy habits, they are actually damaging viewers' relationships with food. These videos create a very narrow image of what food consumption looks like, and leave most of us negatively reflecting on our own food choices. So before you post one of these seemingly harmless videos, just take a moment to think about that choice and the message you are sending to viewers on the other side of the screen.