Pinterest wants to protect users’ Mental Health with new policy against Weight Loss Ads

Pinterest is taking a stance in favor of users’s mental health with a new policy that prohibits all ads with weight loss language and imagery. The image sharing service that provides inspiration to millions of users announced the update on July 1st, noting that there is a particular threat to body image and mental health coming out of the coronavirus pandemic. “According to the US National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) and the US National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), there’s been a steep rise in unhealthy eating habits and eating disorders in young people since the COVID-19 pandemic started last year,” a statement from the brand reads. “Many are now feeling added pressure as they look to rejoin their social circles in person for the first time in 15 months.”

In order to combat some of those pressures, Pinterest aims to create a space where all people can come for inspiration and community, regardless of body shape or size. To do so, its new policies strictly prohibit “any weight loss language or imagery, any testimonials regarding weight loss or weight loss products, any language or imagery that idealizes or denigrates certain body types, referencing Body Mass Index (BMI) or similar indexes and any products that claim weight loss through something worn or applied to the skin.”

Pinterest once stood in the center of these issues after gaining a reputation for housing “pro-anorexia content” by enabling creators to post harmful words and imagery that ultimately started a trend of “thinspiration.” After banning specific content that seemingly promoted eating disorders in 2012, however, the company has continued to make strides in becoming a more positive space and even teamed up with NEDA and ANAD to make necessary changes.

“The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) applauds Pinterest for taking a leadership position as the first platform to prohibit all ads with weight-loss language and imagery. NEDA is encouraged by this necessary step in prioritizing the mental health and well-being of Pinners, especially those impacted by diet culture, body shaming, and eating disorders,” Elizabeth Thompson, Interim CEO for the US National Eating Disorders Association, said in a statement. “We are hopeful this global policy will encourage other organizations and companies to reflect on potentially harmful ad messages and to establish their own working policies that will create meaningful change.”

While content and ads “promoting healthy lifestyles and habits or fitness services and products” will still exist on Pinterest, the company draws a strict boundary at any focus on weight loss that has the potential of rationalizing or encouraging eating disorders. In fact, with an uptick in searches of the term “body neutrality,” Pinterest is ready to embrace any and all content that promotes self-acceptance.

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