It starts with something small. A daughter reaches for a snack and the mother says, “Maybe just have a few almonds, you don’t need all that.” Or the son skips dessert and the mother calls it “being good.” Or the mother casually mentions she hasn’t eaten all day in front of her son or daughter’s friends. Nothing about these moments seems dramatic. There’s no crisis, no obvious harm. However, they convey a quiet but persistent message: food is something to control, and so is your body. On social media, this type of parenting has been nicknamed the “almond mom.” The term is often used humorously with many videos mimicking the ultra-fit and overly body-image-focused mom. However, it’s a ubiquitous message reflecting a pathway through which family environments shape how young people think about food, their bodies, and ultimately themselves.
Transgenerational Transmission Of Eating Behaviors
Eating disorders are not only deeply individual, rooted in personality, biology, or personal struggle, but they are also learned, modeled, and socially transmitted. In a recent study of college-aged emerging adults, individuals who reported more experiences with an “almond mom”, a parent highly focused on dieting, weight, and “clean eating”, also reported more disordered eating behaviors (Sutton, 2025). The relationship between parent dieting and body views and disordered eating behaviors in youth were partially explained by nutrition-related social media use. This suggests that early family environments may play a role in shaping the kind of content young people engage with, which in turn influences one’s relationship with disordered eating. The finding reframes parental influence on youth eating behaviors. It is not just about what comment the mom makes when a daughter reaches for a snack. It is about how those early messages guide attention, habits, and the environments children choose to engage with.
How Social Media Joins The Transgenerational Transmission Of Eating Behavior
Social media does not simply expose users to idealized bodies or “perfect” eating behaviors, but it also encourages users to evaluate themselves against those ideals. A large meta-analysis of 83 studies including more than 55,000 participants found that social comparison on social media is strongly associated with both body dissatisfaction and eating disorder symptoms (Bonfanti et al., 2024). Individuals who more frequently compare themselves to others online, particularly through what is called “upward comparisons”, report worse body image and more disordered eating behaviors. The same analysis also found that social comparison is linked to lower positive body image, suggesting that social media comparisons not only increase the risk of body dissatisfaction but also affects positive thinking about one’s body (Bonfanti et al., 2024). A broader pattern emerges, alongside Sutton’s (2025) findings. Family environments may have power over the kinds of content individuals attend to, while social media platforms amplify that attention through algorithmic reinforcement.
It’s Not Just What Parents Believe
Research on the intergenerational transmission of eating disorders adds an important layer. A recent study examining mothers, fathers, and their daughters found that parents’ eating disorder symptoms and appearance-related attitudes were not reliably associated with higher levels of eating disorder symptoms in their children (Zissu et al., 2025). In some cases, the relationship was even negative, challenging the long-standing assumption that these attitudes are directly transmitted across generations. These findings suggest that transmission may depend more on relational and behavioral processes than on attitudes alone. Children learn how food is talked about, how bodies are evaluated, and how emotions are managed in relation to eating, which are not always conveyed through formal instruction but through everyday interactions. In this sense, what is transmitted across generations is not just a set of ideas, but a relationship to the body, a way of interpreting hunger, evaluating appearance, and regulating emotion.
When The Family Becomes The Intervention
Family environments contribute to risk, but they can also play a role in recovery. A systematic review of family-based treatments for adolescent eating disorders found that family therapy consistently improves clinical outcomes, including symptom reduction and long-term recovery (Mursaleen et al., 2025). These approaches work by addressing not only the individual’s behaviors but also the broader family dynamics in which those behaviors develop. Family-based therapies often focus on improving communication, increasing supportive parental involvement, and addressing relational patterns that maintain the disorder.
Beyond The “Almond Mom”
The “almond mom” may be a cultural caricature, but it reflects a real phenomenon. Across the studies discussed here, eating behaviors appear to be shaped by a combination of influences rather than a single source. Family environments can play an important role in shaping early experiences with food and body image, not only through explicit beliefs but through everyday interactions and modeled behaviors (Sutton, 2025; Zissu et al., 2025). At the same time, social media introduces additional pressures by increasing exposure to idealized bodies and encouraging social comparison, both of which are associated with greater body dissatisfaction and disordered eating (Bonfanti et al., 2024). Seen in this light, the “almond mom” is less a diagnosis and more a cultural phenomenon for a set of dynamics that are widely distributed and often subtle. Understanding these dynamics may help shift the conversation from individual blame toward a more comprehensive view of how eating behaviors are shaped and how they might be changed.
Reference
Bonfanti, R. C., Melchiori, F., Teti, A., Albano, G., Raffard, S., Rodgers, R., & Coco, G. L. (2025). The association between social comparison in social media, body image concerns and eating disorder symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Body image, 52, 101841.
Mursaleen, M., Shaikh, S. I., & Kamrani, F. (2025). THE ROLE OF FAMILY THERAPY IN TREATING ADOLESCENTS WITH EATING DISORDERS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. International Journal of Social Sciences Bulletin, 3(3), 308-316.
Sutton, R. E. (2025). “Almond Moms” and Their Influence on College-Aged Emerging Adults: An Investigation on Eating Cognitions, Behaviors, and Psychological Wellness.
Zissu, B., Sher, H., & Slobodin, O. (2025). Transgenerational transmission of eating disorders: the role of eating disorder symptoms and socio-cultural attitudes. Journal of Eating Disorders, 13(1), 137.