  A large body of research has focused on understanding how online content and
disordered eating behaviors are associated. However, there is a lack of
comprehensive studies investigating digital food content's influence on
individuals with eating disorders. We conducted two rounds of studies (N=23 and
22, respectively) with individuals with binge eating disorder (BED) or bulimia
nervosa (BN) to understand their motivations and practices of consuming digital
food content. Our study reveals that individuals with BED and BN anticipate
positive effects from food media to overcome their condition, but in practice,
it often exacerbates their disorder. We also discovered that many individuals
have experienced a cycle of quitting and returning to digital food content
consumption. Based on these findings, we articulate design implications for
digital food content and multimedia platforms to support vulnerable individuals
in everyday online platform interactions.
