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. This essay is part of the SignalRupture canon, a body of work examining contemporary systems, infrastructures, and social dynamics through a conceptual and diagnostic lens. Each piece contributes to an ongoing analysis of structural stress, digital environments, governance patterns, and the evolving relationship between individuals and large‑scale systems. The work combines theoretical reflection with infrastructural observation, offering frameworks for understanding systemic erosion, cultural shifts, and emerging forms of social complexity.