How Wellness Culture Can Fuel Eating Disorders

In today’s world, everywhere you look there’s talk about wellness — clean eating, superfoods, biohacking, fasting, fitness challenges, and "living your best life." At first glance, it sounds positive. Taking care of your body and mind is important. But when the pursuit of wellness becomes rigid, obsessive, or fueled by fear, it can cross into dangerous territory. For many people, wellness culture can actually contribute to the development of eating disorders.

Modern wellness culture often sends the message that health is something you have to constantly strive for, measure, and perfect. Social media is packed with advice about cutting out sugar, avoiding carbs, following intense workout programs, or detoxing your body. While some of these behaviors may seem harmless or even admirable, they can encourage all-or-nothing thinking about food, body image, and self-worth — all of which are risk factors for disordered eating.

One example is orthorexia, a lesser-known but serious eating disorder where the obsession isn’t necessarily about weight loss, but about eating only foods considered "pure," "clean," or "healthy." Over time, this rigid focus on perfection can cause physical harm, emotional distress, and social isolation. Orthorexia often starts under the umbrella of “getting healthier” but becomes a source of anxiety, guilt, and shame anytime food rules aren’t followed exactly.

Wellness culture can also normalize and even praise disordered behaviors. Skipping meals is often framed as "intermittent fasting." Cutting out entire food groups is called "clean eating." Overexercising is seen as "being dedicated." Because these patterns are celebrated, it can be difficult to recognize when someone’s relationship with food and exercise has become harmful.

True health is about flexibility, balance, and kindness toward yourself — not strict rules, fear, or guilt. A healthy relationship with food includes all types of foods, allows for social connection, and doesn’t demand perfection. It honors both physical and emotional well-being, rather than focusing only on appearance, weight, or control.

If you or someone you know is caught in the endless pressure to be “perfectly healthy” and feels increasingly anxious, restricted, or isolated, it may be a sign that help is needed. Wellness should support life, not control it — and sometimes the first step toward true health is letting go of the pressure to be perfect.