The videos have all the trappings of a TikTok designed to go viral: an eager creator staring into the camera, poised to give the viewer a before-and-after look at completing a difficult physical challenge. Yet so-called fear food challenges are dramatically different than the typical TikTok stunt. They aren’t meant for anyone to attempt, but are instead produced for people going through or curious about eating disorder recovery. In these videos, creators who indicate that they’re in recovery often reach into a jar filled with scraps of paper labeled with one of their fear foods. Whatever word they pull out — “cheeseburger,” “candy bar,” or the name of a flavorful entree — they then make or buy and try to eat on camera. Sometimes an individual fear food challenge TikTok garners millions of views. Collectively, the hashtag #fearfoodchallenge has more than 470 million views.
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The comments are often overwhelmingly supportive of the creator. But other viewers come across the content with no understanding of why people in recovery have certain fear foods, and they leave cruel comments about the creator, demonstrating the risks of an algorithm pushing these videos into people’s feeds with no context. Eating disorder recovery experts say fear food challenge videos present both benefits and risks to the creator and the viewer. Particularly as people prepare for the new year by exploring wellness and food-related content on TikTok, it’s important to know what the content
Mashable https://mashable.com/article/tiktok-fear-food-challenge