When Eating Isn’t “Just Quirky”: What TikTok Reveals About Autism, Food, and EDs
For decades, the medical model has misunderstood autistic people’s food relationships — brushing off sensory aversions, restrictive diets, and meal-time rigidity as either quirky autism “traits” or signs of comorbid eating disorders that must be addressed in isolation.
But what if neither framing captures the full picture?
A new study by Alper et al. (2025), published in New Media & Society, examines how autistic people are using TikTok to tell their own stories about food — and in doing so, reshape the dominant narratives around eating and disorder.
What the Study Found
The research team explored hundreds of TikTok videos tagged with autism- and ED-related keywords, analyzing how creators (mostly autistic women and people who don’t identify strictly as male or female) described their lived experiences with eating. The key insights are profound:
Many autistic people don’t experience eating disorders in “typical” ways. For them, food issues are often rooted in sensory sensitivities, interoception differences, and executive function challenges — not body image concerns.
Clinical tools used to diagnose and treat EDs often miss or dismiss these patterns, especially among autistic individuals who experience marginalization related to race, body size or gender and sexuality.
TikTok offers something rare: a platform where autistic people can find community, language, and validation for food struggles that are otherwise misunderstood or erased by traditional health systems.
In short: the app becomes a space not just for venting, but for self-advocacy, connection, and cultural critique.
Why This Matters to AAB
This study embodies many of the values Autism Answers Back champions:
- It centers autistic voices, not as data points but as meaning-makers.
- It challenges pathologizing norms, showing how rigid diagnostic frameworks often fail neurodivergent people.
- It explores the systemic barriers — from medical gaslighting to ableist treatment models — that shape autistic lives.
Unlike so much autism research, this paper doesn’t ask, “What’s wrong with these people?”
It asks, “What’s wrong with how they’ve been seen and treated?”
A Few Caveats
Even excellent research deserves reflection:
TikTok is a double-edged sword.
The study notes its value, but more could be said about the platform’s role in spreading potentially harmful content alongside support.Still no autistic co-authors.
Despite commendable inclusion of neurodivergent perspectives in the analysis, the author list does not include anyone publicly identifying as autistic. For AAB, lived experience isn’t optional — it’s foundational.
Bottom Line
Alper et al.’s work is a major step forward. It listens when others pathologize. It amplifies when others dismiss. It builds bridges when others gatekeep. For researchers seeking to do better, this paper is a roadmap — and for autistic people navigating food and identity, it’s a mirror that finally reflects the truth.