(Press-News.org) A new analysis being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Malaga, Spain (11-14 May), finds that around half of the 100 top TikTok videos about food noise reference the use of medications—mainly the popular anti-obesity drugs glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs)—to manage constant and persistent thoughts about food and eating.
“TikTok can be an incredible tool for raising awareness, but it also has a downside,” said lead author Daisuke Hayashi from the Pennsylvania State University, USA.
“The abundance of content depicting anti-obesity medications as a solution for food noise is a double-edged sword. On one hand, content creators seem to have found a community in TikTok where they can share their lived experiences about food noise, and how new medications have helped them change their health behaviours and fight intrusive thoughts about food. On the other hand, younger audiences, who make the most of TikTok’s viewership, may not understand the distinction between food noise and normal hunger and appetite. This could negatively affect their relationship with food and make them believe that they need a medication to silence normal food cravings.”
Food noise has recently emerged in media, social media, and reports from patients and clinicians to describe rumination and obsessive preoccupation about food and eating. A theoretical definition of food noise has recently been established by Hayashi and colleagues as “heightened and/or persistent manifestations of food cue reactivity, often leading to food-related intrusive thoughts and maladaptive eating behaviours” [1].
Google Trends data reveal that interest in food noise started in 2023, with an all-time high in April 2025, coinciding with the surge in popularity of anti-obesity drugs such as semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro and Zepbound).
Over one billion users—mostly children, teenagers, and young adults—use the online short video-sharing platform TikTok, which has become a major outlet for content creators to disseminate information on food noise, with over 3,600 videos under the hashtag #FoodNoise as of June 2024.
While these platforms have powerful potential to benefit users interested in such content, they may also help to spread misinformation. However, little is known about the content encountered by social media users around food noise.
To find out more, researchers assessed the content of the 100 top TikTok videos under the hashtag #FoodNoise retrieved on June 24th, 2024 (one duplicate video was removed).
They found that the sampled videos had an average of 1,173,324 views, 8,155 likes, 247 comments, and 583 shares. Of the videos that defined food noise (83%), almost all (94%) aligned with the current theoretical definition.
The content creators were mostly female (92%), aged 30 or older (82%), and White (86%). Notably, 1 in 5 content creators were healthcare professionals, and almost three-quarters (71%) of videos were patient testimonies.
The analysis also found that most videos (86%) depicted food noise as a negative phenomenon that causes suffering and loss of quality of life. Half of the videos mentioned medications, and often mentioned the use of drugs to manage food noise, with 92% related to GLP-1RA drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide.
Additionally, sponsored content was disclosed in just 5% of videos. “Undisclosed sponsorship is believed to be abundant on TikTok. Some content may be posted by creators promoting products and treatments without proper disclosure, and people watching these videos may not even know they are being advertised to,” said Hayashi.He added, “Future research is needed to explore lived experiences around food noise beyond online platforms to understand more about this phenomenon, how to manage it, and how it might impact eating behaviours, health, and quality of life.”
END
Half of popular TikToks about “food noise” mention medications, mainly weight-loss drugs, to manage intrusive thoughts about food
Of the TikTok videos that referenced medications to silence food noise, 92% mentioned GLP-1RA drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide
2025-05-13
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Global survey reveals high disconnect between perceptions of obesity among people living with the disease and their doctors
2025-05-13
A survey of adults living with obesity and their physicians across seven countries reveals a high disconnect between their perceptions about the causes of obesity and treatment goals. The findings being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Malaga, Spain (11-14 May), highlight biased misconceptions about obesity which may impact patients’ access to treatment and support.
“Although the causes of weight gain and obesity are diverse and complex—and often beyond an ...
Study reveals distinct mechanisms of action of tirzepatide and semaglutide
2025-05-13
New animal research being presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Malaga, Spain (11-14 May), reveals distinct metabolic adjustments to tirzepatide and semaglutide treatment, with tirzepatide temporarily increasing energy expenditure and semaglutide initially reducing energy expenditure. Importantly, the biggest metabolic changes happen directly after treatment and disappear quickly after treatment is stopped.
Anti-obesity drugs like tirzepatide and semaglutide have shown substantial promise in promoting weight loss and improving metabolic ...
Mount Sinai Health System to honor Dennis S. Charney, MD, Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, for 18 years of leadership and service at annual Crystal Party
2025-05-13
New York, NY (May 13, 2025) – Mount Sinai Health System announced today that it will recognize Dennis S. Charney, MD, the outgoing Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, for 18 years of leadership and service at its 40th annual Crystal Party, Tuesday, May 20, at Pier Sixty, 60 Chelsea Piers. Dr. Charney is one of the longest-serving deans of any medical school nationwide and will step down as Dean on Monday, June 30. He will remain on the faculty at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount ...
Mapping a new brain network for naming
2025-05-13
How are we able to recall a word we want to say? This basic ability, called word retrieval, is often compromised in patients with brain damage. Interestingly, many patients who can name words they see, like identifying a pet in the room as a “cat”, struggle with retrieving words in everyday discourse.
Scientists have long sought to understand how the brain retrieves words during speech. A new study by researchers at New York University sheds light on this mystery, revealing a left-lateralized network in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex that plays a crucial role in naming. The findings, published in Cell Reports, provide new insights into ...
Healthcare company Watkins-Conti announces publication of positive clinical trial results for FDA-cleared Yōni.Fit bladder support
2025-05-13
EDMOND, Okla. – May 13, 2025 -- Watkins-Conti Products, Inc. ("Watkins-Conti"), a company that develops innovative solutions for women's pelvic health, today announced the peer-reviewed publication of clinical trial results evaluating Yōni.Fit® Bladder Support ("Yōni.Fit®"). Designed and manufactured in the United States, Yōni.Fit® obtained 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2024 for the temporary management of urine ...
Prominent chatbots routinely exaggerate science findings, study shows
2025-05-13
When summarizing scientific studies, large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and DeepSeek produce inaccurate conclusions in up to 73% of cases, according to a new study by Uwe Peters (Utrecht University) and Benjamin Chin-Yee (Western University, Canada/University of Cambridge, UK). The researchers tested the most prominent LLMs and analyzed thousands of chatbot-generated science summaries, revealing that most models consistently produced broader conclusions than those in the summarized texts. Surprisingly, prompts ...
First-ever long read datasets added to two Kids First studies
2025-05-13
This new Kids First data creates a fuller understanding of how genetics contributes to childhood cancers and congenital disorders, opening additional doors for prevention and treatment.
WHO: The Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program (Kids First), an initiative of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Kids First data, tools, and resources are available via the Kids First Data Resource Center (DRC).
WHAT: The 2025 releases represent the first batch of long read sequencing data ...
Dual-laser technique lowers Brillouin sensing frequency to 200 MHz
2025-05-13
Scientists have developed a dual-laser Brillouin optical correlation-domain reflectometry (BOCDR) system that uses two frequency-modulated lasers. By scanning the relative modulation phase between the pump and reference lasers, the setup measures strain and temperature all along an optical fiber. In a proof-of-concept test on a 13-meter silica fiber, the team recorded Brillouin gain spectra (BGS) at only about 200 MHz—over 50 times lower than the usual 11 GHz band.
Their research was published in Journal of Physics: Photonics on April 25, 2025.
“The dual-laser approach makes BOCDR equipment simpler, more cost-effective, ...
Zhaoqi Yan named a 2025 Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar
2025-05-13
SAN FRANCISCO—Zhaoqi Yan, PhD, a scientist at Gladstone Institutes, has been named a 2025 Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholar. The fellowship award is given annually to five postdoctoral researchers in the United States who demonstrate exceptional creativity in the field of neuroscience.
Yan studies how blood proteins that leak into the brain through damaged blood vessels can drive brain inflammation and neurodegeneration. Molecular mechanisms behind this dysfunction in the blood-brain barrier remain unclear, and effective therapeutic strategies are lacking—something Yan hopes to change.
With the support from the Warren Alpert Foundation, he will use cutting-edge techniques to ...
Editorial for the special issue on subwavelength optics
2025-05-13
The field of subwavelength optics has opened new avenues for investigating light–matter interactions by enabling the exploration of novel phenomena at the subwavelength scale. In recent decades, advancements in fundamental understanding and micro–nano-technologies have significantly propelled the development of subwavelength optics and its practical applications. For instance, progress in surface plasmon subwavelength optics, which facilitates the confinement of light at scales below the diffraction limit, forms a basis for transformative applications such as sub-diffraction-limit imaging, waveguiding and sensing. Moreover, advancements ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Cheese may really be giving you nightmares, scientists find
Study reveals most common medical emergencies in schools
Breathable yet protective: Next-gen medical textiles with micro/nano networks
Frequency-engineered MXene supercapacitors enable efficient pulse charging in TENG–SC hybrid systems
Developed an AI-based classification system for facial pigmented lesions
Achieving 20% efficiency in halogen-free organic solar cells via isomeric additive-mediated sequential processing
New book Terraglossia reclaims language, Country and culture
The most effective diabetes drugs don't reach enough patients yet
Breast cancer risk in younger women may be influenced by hormone therapy
Strategies for staying smoke-free after rehab
Commentary questions the potential benefit of levothyroxine treatment of mild hypothyroidism during pregnancy
Study projects over 14 million preventable deaths by 2030 if USAID defunding continues
New study reveals 33% gap in transplant access for UK’s poorest children
Dysregulated epigenetic memory in early embryos offers new clues to the inheritance of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
IVF and IUI pregnancy rates remain stable across Europe, despite an increasing uptake of single embryo transfer
It takes a village: Chimpanzee babies do better when their moms have social connections
From lab to market: how renewable polymers could transform medicine
Striking increase in obesity observed among youth between 2011 and 2023
No evidence that medications trigger microscopic colitis in older adults
NYUAD researchers find link between brain growth and mental health disorders
Aging-related inflammation is not universal across human populations, new study finds
University of Oregon to create national children’s mental health center with $11 million federal grant
Rare achievement: UTA undergrad publishes research
Fact or fiction? The ADHD info dilemma
Genetic ancestry linked to risk of severe dengue
Genomes reveal the Norwegian lemming as one of the youngest mammal species
Early birds get the burn: Monash study finds early bedtimes associated with more physical activity
Groundbreaking analysis provides day-by-day insight into prehistoric plankton’s capacity for change
Southern Ocean saltier, hotter and losing ice fast as decades-long trend unexpectedly reverses
Human fishing reshaped Caribbean reef food webs, 7000-year old exposed fossilized reefs reveal
[Press-News.org] Half of popular TikToks about “food noise” mention medications, mainly weight-loss drugs, to manage intrusive thoughts about foodOf the TikTok videos that referenced medications to silence food noise, 92% mentioned GLP-1RA drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide