Eating Disorders · Texas behavioral health news
New report shows YouTube still recommends eating disorder content to children despite safety improvements - Center for Countering Digital Hate | CCDH
Eating Disorders (Google News) · July 13, 2026
In plain language
Recent research reveals that YouTube still suggests harmful videos about eating disorders to accounts representing 13-year-old girls. While the number of these recommendations has decreased since 2024, children are still being shown content that encourages extreme dieting and weight loss. Safety features like crisis resource panels do not always appear on the most dangerous videos, and warning screens are often easy for kids to skip. This highlights that despite regular safety improvements, young users can still encounter content that praises disordered eating.
AI-generated summary of the source article. Not medical advice.
Key takeaways
- YouTube continues to recommend videos promoting anorexia and extreme calorie restriction to simulated child accounts.
- The frequency of harmful eating disorder recommendations dropped from one in three in 2024 to one in nine in 2026.
- Crisis help resources are inconsistently applied and often fail to appear alongside the most harmful video content.
- Children can easily bypass the platform's warning or pause screens with a single click to access dangerous videos.
- Experts believe that government regulations in the UK and EU are helping to make platforms safer for minors.
- Researchers found that YouTube's algorithms still suggest 'thinspiration' and subliminal weight-loss videos to teenage users.
New report shows YouTube still recommends eating disorder content to children despite safety improvements Center for Countering Digital Hate | CCDH
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