From Taboo to Glorified Aesthetics: Perceiving Eating Disorders in the Global South.

Eating disorders are widely discussed and evident in Western societies, often conceptualised as a symptom of cultural backlash against increased independence in women (Tsouluhas, 1999). Formally, eating disorders (EDs) are defined as persistent disturbances in eating behaviour resulting in altered food consumption or absorption which affects health by impairing the physical or psychological individual functioning (Doku et al., 2024).

With Bulimia Nervosa and Anorexia Nervosa being the most common disorders, other asymptomatic behaviours associated with eating disorders—inclusive of laxative abuse, self-starvation, excessive comparison, extreme exercise and induced vomiting—are still responses to obtaining a glamourised body. In the Global South, issues of body image and eating disorders often go unnoticed and unspoken mainly because of the lack of education, lack of vocabulary for EDs in local languages and stigmatisation of mental illnesses (Bryant, 2021). Nonetheless, severity of symptoms increases due to issues of misdiagnosis and because eating disorders are conceptualised to only exist in young white American women, which slows down the chances of timely intervention (Kempa & Thomas, 2000).

Although genetic predispositions and other socio-cultural issues contribute to the development of eating disorders, it is vital to acknowledge the role of media (literature, film & art) misinterpretation and glamourisation in the development of these disorders. Studies also indicate the link between social media use and the development of eating disorder patterns and undesirable body image judgements through fitness influencers, promotion of diets and weight-loss aids which normalise harmful eating behaviours, particularly in adolescents (Suhag & Rauniyar, 2024). For instance, the 75 Hard Challenge perpetuates unrealistic and unattainable goals for certain groups of people, which perfectly illustrates how trends like this place people at risk for negative outcomes in disordered eating, body dissatisfaction and body image outcomes (Lamere, 2025). This is also backed by the “big back” joke on TikTok and by the increase of EDs during COVID-19 due to fitness influencers such as Chloe Ting, who fuelled negative body obsession with shred challenges (Todd, 2025). Other studies also indicate undergraduate students as a vulnerable population with high prevalence of eating disorders due to their perception of body shape and size (Doku et al., 2024).

Beyond virtual spaces, these ideals manifest in everyday interactions, reinforcing the depth in which beauty standards are embedded in communal and familial settings. The societal pressure to obtain the ideal physique is fuelled by family and peer influences through body shaming, particularly from aunties at family events who utter words like “wanenepatu” (Chichewa verbatim for “you have gained weight”) before they even ask how you are. More recently, loneliness has been found as a precursor of EDs as it mediates emotional dysregulation, as maladaptive eating behaviours become coping mechanisms (Rabarbari et al., 2025). All these factors lead to body dissatisfaction, distorted body image and the development of insecurities due to excessive comparisons and contorted eating and exercise behaviours.

Beyond domestic and digital realms, religion also shapes how bodies and appetites are morally policed across African contexts, where EDs are exacerbated by certain religious practices and sentiments relating to control, sacrifice, excessive fasting and avoiding sinful attitudes such as greed, adding onto the public health burden (Banks, 2025). Although religion can be a protective factor in the discourse of EDs, the variations in the intensity of internalisation of religiosity determine how individuals perceive their body as a gift or a vessel for divine spiritual relationships. Moreover, socioeconomic factors influence the perception of ideal bodies amongst women. In most African countries such as Malawi, Ghana, Senegal, Kenya and Nigeria, excessive weight is often associated with wealth, strength and beauty, creating a pressure to fulfil the desirable body image expectations of being overweight and demonstrating perceived good health (Waltsgott, Adedeji & Buchcik, 2024). Yet in contexts fuelled with food scarcity and undernutrition, the paradox lies in the choice of food restriction for aesthetic or emotional reasons. It is within this paradox where the realities of eating disorders are not understood.

With globalisation and digital media, the African body is caught in between two contrasting ideals—the traditional celebration of fullness and the imported Western pursuit of thinness. This collision has complicated perceptions, merging African and Western ideals that redefine femininity and desirability, and creating hybrid aesthetics inclusive of the “Slim-Thick” aesthetic characterised by a narrow waist and accentuated curves, often popularised by influencers, Afrobeats vixens and Nollywood actresses. This ideal is highly gendered and racialised through Beyoncé’s praise of Sarah Baartman’s hips (Bhana & Basi, 2025), which turned humiliation into new beauty ideals. The glorified image demands simultaneous weight gain and loss, concealed under discipline, self-care and fitness, exacerbating insecurities and the pressure to perform perfection.

The rise of the Slim-Thick aesthetic also symbolically shifts local nuances in contexts where thinness is associated with poverty and illness. This shift ties modernity, Western fitspiration culture and desirable body control, fuelling body surveillance and fuelling EDs due to the juxtaposing Afrocentric and Eurocentric idealisation of body size. Nonetheless, it has driven the internalisation of being disciplined by racism, sexism and objectification of Black women’s bodies (Todd, 2025).

Unfortunately, there is limited literature on eating disorders in Africa, as it is understood as a Western-Bound Syndrome, hence providing African researchers a gap to fill in future studies. Nonetheless, it provides an opportunity to create and validate culturally specific screening tools and early response programmes for the detection and prevention of eating disorders for people in different African regions. Despite this visible transformation of beauty ideals across Africa, research on how these imported aesthetics intersect with eating behaviours remains scarce. As Africans we must ask ourselves: how do we begin to heal from disorders we don’t even name?

References

- Tsouluhas, L. (1999). You are what you eat: Eating disorders and the consumption of patriarchy (Doctoral dissertation).

- Todd, N. Y. (2025). You Thought You Ate: How Capitalism Constructs Black Women’s Body Image and Relationship to Food.

- Waltsgott, L., Adedeji, A., & Buchcik, J. (2024). Ideal body image and socioeconomic factors: Exploring the perceptions of Kenyan women. BMC Women’s Health, 24, 501. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-024-03307-5

- Banks, A. L. (2025). Food, Faith, and Femininity: Exploring the Associations Between Religious Motivation, Gender Roles, Purity Culture, and Eating Disorder Symptoms (Doctoral dissertation, Fielding Graduate University).

- Bhana, D., & Basi, P. (2025). ‘Slim-thick’: Desires and pressures in pre-service female students’ account of body ideals. Teachers and Teaching, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2025.2489392

- Doku, M. M., Sackar, S. A., Nkumsah‐Riverson, P., & Ainuson‐Quampah, J. (2024). Prevalence and factors associated with eating disorders among undergraduate students in a public university in Ghana. Mental Health Science, 2(3), e64.

- Bryant, E. (2021). Anorexia: The great taboo. The Lancet Psychiatry, 8(10), 866–867.

- Rabarbari, E., Rossi, C., Frisone, F., & Riva, G. (2025). Exploring loneliness in clinical and sub‐clinical eating disorders: A systematic review. European Eating Disorders Review.

- Suhag, K., & Rauniyar, S. (2024). Social media effects regarding eating disorders and body image in young adolescents. Cureus, 16(4).

- Lamere, A. (2025). TikTok Made Me Do It: #75Hard. [Reference incomplete—needs journal/publisher/DOI].

- Kempa, M. L., & Thomas, A. J. (2000). Culturally sensitive assessment and treatment of eating disorders. Eating Disorders, 8(1), 17–30