I tried to stop seeing weight loss content on TikTok. Here's what happened.

I use TikTok's 'Not Interested' button a lot.

I don't want to see posts about weight loss, eating healthy, or getting a 'glow-up'. I hit 'Not Interested' on these kinds of posts.

I thought the 'Not Interested' button was a tool to help me avoid unhealthy content.

Many Americans will have an eating disorder in their lifetime, and our government is not helping by cutting food programs and healthcare.

I've tried to keep weight loss messages out of my life, but I still see them often.

If you're like me and use the 'Not Interested' button, I have bad news: it doesn't seem to work.

I looked at my advertising settings and was surprised.

My settings said I was interested in 'Health & Wellness' and had no preference for 'Weight management'.

I thought I had made my preferences clear.

I also looked at my content topic preferences and saw that 'Health and Fitness' was set to the default.

TikTok's rules say they don't allow harmful weight loss claims or products.

But even with these rules, I still see weight loss content.

I thought hitting 'Not Interested' would change my account settings, but it doesn't.

The 'Not Interested' button just tells the algorithm I didn't like one specific post.

To be fair, the button wasn't meant to work the way I thought it did.

A study found that the 'Not Interested' button may not be effective.

The study used bot accounts to test the button and found that topics can come back after just a few minutes.

The study authors said that once you stop telling the algorithm you're not interested, your feed can be filled with that content again.

You should still use the 'Not Interested' button, but it's not the only way to control your content.

There are other settings you can use to control what you see.

I changed my settings to see less 'Health and Fitness' content.

I also adjusted my ad preferences to avoid weight loss and nutrition ads.

I cleaned out my 'inferred' preferences, which are assumptions TikTok makes about me.

I was told it might take 48 hours to see changes, but I'm still waiting.

After changing my settings, the ads seemed to get worse.

I started taking screenshots of the ads I saw.

On May 9, I saw two ads for a weight loss injection.

On May 14, I saw a sponsored vlog from an account called 'Lily Nurse&Lifestyle'.

On May 27, I saw ads for weight loss products and a vlog about a woman who lost half her body weight.

On May 30, I saw more ads for weight loss products and a vlog from a GLP-1 influencer.

I'm still seeing these ads two months later.

I also looked at Instagram's tools to personalize my content.

Instagram's content preferences are different from TikTok's.

You can 'snooze' suggested content from profiles you don't follow for 30 days.

Instagram's main feed is not designed to show you content from people you don't follow.

You can avoid suggested content on Instagram more easily than on TikTok.

I checked my settings on Instagram and made some changes.

I feel a bit better about my feed on Instagram.

I'm not saying Instagram is perfect, but it's better than TikTok for me.

I talked to experts about why it's hard to protect our feeds from weight loss content.

They said it's because of a lack of content moderation on social media platforms.

The algorithms are designed to favor creators, not consumers.

Even with robust controls, weight loss content can still slip through.

My takeaway is to continuously update your profile settings.

You should regularly audit your feeds to stay safe online.

It's not a one-time fix, but something you have to keep doing.

Experts are still figuring out the best ways to stay safe online.

They recommend using screen time limits and being intentional about who you follow.

You should follow accounts that are anti-diet and never post body images.

If your feed is causing you anxiety, it's okay to start over.

If you're concerned about your eating behavior, you can visit the National Eating Disorders Association website.

You can also text CONNECT to 741741 for immediate support.

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