ROME – Food is the most photographed subject on the social networking app Instagram, and studies show that this excessive habit can contribute to an unhealthy lifestyle. Instagram allows people to post photographs modified with filters and also share them on other social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The app created by Kevin Systroy, and Mike Kriger was launched in October 2010 and by 2013 Instagram was included in ‘Time’s list of “50 best Android Apps.”

 Photographs of meals and tagging the restaurant where they are being consumed has become a major global trend on Instagram. It was becoming such a phenomenon that some bars and restaurants even prohibited diners from taking pictures of their meals. Furthermore, statistics demonstrate that Instgram might surpass the social network FoodSpotting created solely for posting photographs of meals, and the restaurant’s location.

 Interestingly, 360i a search engine marketing company, discovered that the most photographed food items are desserts, and the least is the Italian’s favourite dish: pasta. At the end of 2010, it was recorded that a staggering 80 billion photographs of food were uploaded across social platforms worldwide.

 Valerie Taylor, Chief of Psychiatry at the Women’s College Hospital at the University of Toronto argues that documenting what and where food is eaten could be a sign of a broader problem relating to modern diets. During her lecture at the Canadian Obesity Summit in Vancouver about eating disorders, food and culture, she stated, “I see clients for whom food has become problematic, and they struggle to go out and not let food be the key element of all social interactions.”

 Psychological Science published a study arguing that posting a picture online of the food, makes the meal seem tastier for the photographer. In fact, researchers from the University of Minnesota and Harvard Business School found that “rituals enhance enjoyment consumption because of greater involvement in the experience that they prompt.”

 However, another study conducted by the Brigham Young University examined 232 students and their reactions to particular photographs of food to guage whether they found them appealing or not. When they were shown photographs of peanuts the students did not want to eat them. Ryan Elder, the professor overseeing the examination, concluded that you can become tired of a particular taste without having eaten it.

 Indeed, obsessively posting pictures of food can destroy the pleasure of a meal, and destabilize the regular eating process. This is yet another example of how an obsession with apps such as Instagram can not only be destructive to our social interaction but can also contribute to unhealthy eating habits.