Obesity as Infrastructure: Algorithmic Targeting, Eating‑Disorder Vulnerability, and the Engineered Appetite Economy

This essay reframes obesity not as an individual failure but as the predictable output of a multi‑layered infrastructural system. It examines how algorithmic targeting, social‑media amplification, and an engineered food environment converge to shape appetite, vulnerability, and metabolic regulation. Drawing on recent research in adolescent mental health, digital harms, and ultra‑processed food design, the analysis shows how platforms disproportionately expose users—especially those with eating‑disorder histories—to harmful content and covert advertising. These digital dynamics intersect with hyper‑palatable, low‑satiety foods that disrupt GLP‑1 signaling and reward pathways, creating a biochemical environment in which hunger is manufactured rather than naturally regulated. By synthesizing evidence across digital, commercial, and biological infrastructures, the essay argues that obesity is a systemic outcome produced by the engineered appetite economy, not a matter of personal responsibility.