A disturbing trend called “Skinnytok” is accumulating millions of views in Tiktok, Instagram, Reddit and YouTube, pushing extreme tactics of weight loss, restrictive food and toxic “discipline” such as the path to happiness, or at least thin.
And it is sending vulnerable users for a dangerous spiral, experts and survivors warn.
“I know that if I had seen that (advice) when I was younger, I would have thought that I also needed it,” said Fhaith Montoya, a positive influence for the body and survivor of eating disorder at Today.com.
At first glance, Tiktok seems to discourage the trend. The search for “Skinnytok” requests a message: “You are more than your weight”, together with the links with the resources of eating disorder.
But it moves even more and the platform serves endless videos that promote dangerous “motivation”: omit food, drink coffee to stop hunger, celebrate calorie deficits.
Some slogans read as parody of self -harm:
“If your stomach grows, pretend that it is applauding you.”
“Be small, eat small. To be big, eat big.”
“You don’t need a gift. You’re not a dog.”
It is triggering the main medical red flags, according to the specialist in internal medicine, Dr. Also Chema, who marked the tendency to Forbes, including the glorification of hunger and the reduction of food to a utility without soul.
Experts say that it is a brand change of the “pro-anan” communities (pro-anorexia) of the beginning of 2000, now with a shine of generation Z.
“This mentality rules out the complex realities of genetics, mental health and socio -economic factors, promoting shame about support. It is a toxic narrative disguised as empowerment,” said Stephen Buchwald of Manhattan Mental Health, to Forbes.
Tiktok guidelines say the application “does not allow to show or promote messy feeding and dangerous weight loss behaviors.” And users can filter activation hashtags.
Even so, the content that pushes the “potentially harmful weight management” can remain restricted to users over 18 years and removed from the page for its
And this type of culture fed by shame is not only ineffective, it is dangerous.
“Seeing cured and unrealistic images of thinness can make people feel that they are never” good enough. “This creates a cycle of self -criticism and low self -esteem, which can become anxiety and depression,” Buchwald told Forbes.
He added that teenagers are especially at risk.
“Teenagers are neurologically connected to seek approval and belonging, which makes them especially vulnerable to trends such as ‘Skinnytok’.”
Despite the violent reaction to fatphobia and diet culture, “Skinnytok” shows that the thin ideal is not going anywhere.
“Skinnytok is just another version of something we’ve seen in the past,” said author Martha Laham When chatting with today.
“The types of media and how we follow it can be new, but the thin ideal has always been there.”
“Even if some of the creators have good intentions, sometimes they are giving nutritional advice, what they should not do,” said Andrea Mathis, dietitian and blogger for beautiful meals and things.
“Maybe it starts in a way, but the more you do it with that mentality, it can become an obsession,” he said to the site.
And the accident diet does not even work, said Maria Abihanna, an expert in Food Label Maker.
“People blame the willpower when they cannot stay with a diet. The truth is that their body is built to resist the rapid loss of fats,” said Abihanna.
“This is where things begin to get into messy territory,” said Edwards-Gayfield Today. “It’s time to get help.”
