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A growing trend on TikTok is drawing serious concerns about harmful body standards, according to a mental health professional and eating disorder specialist in Maryland.
The hashtag "SkinnyTok" promotes extreme weight loss, calorie restriction and negative body talk, often presented as wellness advice. Experts say the viral trend is anything but healthy.
"It's very disheartening to see because we had rally made a lot of progress with body acceptance and body positivity as being more mainstream," said Erin Birely, a licensed clinical professional counselor and Alumni Services Coordinator with the Renfrew Center.
"What we're seeing with SkinnyTok is this return to the thin ideal, a return to your body being part of the reason why you get something or don't get something," Birely added.
What is SkinnyTok?
Videos under the SkinnyTok tag often feature dramatic before-and-after transformations, unrealistic food portions or voiceovers that shame viewers into extreme dieting.
While TikTok has community guidelines in place that ban content promoting eating disorders, many of the posts under SkinnyTok continue to circulate widely.
"The messaging from SkinnyTok really reinforces weight stigma, the idea that there's something wrong with your body if you're not the smallest possible size," Birely said. "So, it leads to people thinking more about their body, comparing it to other people."
Research shows that exposure to these kinds of messages can be especially damaging for teenagers who may already feel pressure to look a certain way.
"It's really hard as clinicians gaining steam and gaining momentum when we've worked so hard to change that narrative," Birely said. "To show that all bodies are good bodies, and that people can do things no matter their size or shape."
Nicky Zizaza joined WJZ in July 2022. She anchors the 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. newscasts with Rick Ritter.
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