A disturbing trend dubbed “SkinnyTok” is racking up thousands and thousands of views across TikTok, Instagram, Reddit and YouTube, pushing extreme weight reduction tactics, restrictive eating, and toxic “discipline” as the trail to happiness — or at the least thinness.
And it’s sending vulnerable users down a dangerous spiral, experts and survivors warn.
“I do know that if I had seen that [advice] once I was younger, I might have thought I needed it, too,” Phaith Montoya, a body-positive influencer and eating disorder survivor told TODAY.com.
At first glance, TikTok appears to discourage the trend. Searching “SkinnyTok” prompts a message: “You’re greater than your weight,” together with links to eating disorder resources.
But scroll further and the platform serves up infinite videos promoting dangerous “motivation”: skip meals, chug coffee to curb hunger, have fun calorie deficits.
Some slogans read like parodies of self-harm:
“In case your stomach is growling, pretend it’s applauding you.”
“To be small, eat small. To be big, eat big.”
“You don’t need a treat. You’re not a dog.”
It’s triggering major medical red flags, in accordance with internal medicine specialist Dr. Asim Cheema, who flagged the trend to Forbes — including glorifying starvation and reducing food to a soulless utility.
Experts say it’s a rebrand of early-2000s “pro-ana” (pro-anorexia) communities — now with a Gen Z gloss.
“This mindset dismisses the complex realities of genetics, mental health and socioeconomic aspects, promoting shame over support. It’s a toxic narrative disguised as empowerment,” Stephen Buchwald of Manhattan Mental Health, told Forbes.
TikTok’s guidelines say the app “doesn’t allow showing or promoting disordered eating and dangerous weight reduction behaviors.” And users can filter out triggering hashtags.
Still, content that pushes “potentially harmful weight management” can remain — restricted to users over 18 and faraway from the For You page.
And this type of shame-fueled culture isn’t just ineffective — it’s dangerous.
“Seeing curated, unrealistic images of thinness every day could make people feel like they’re never ‘ok.’ This creates a cycle of self-criticism and low self-worth, which may escalate into anxiety and depression,” Buchwald said to Forbes.
He added that teens are especially in danger.
“Adolescents are neurologically wired to hunt approval and belonging, which makes them especially vulnerable to trends like ‘SkinnyTok.’”
Despite backlash to fatphobia and weight loss plan culture, “SkinnyTok” proves the skinny ideal isn’t going anywhere.
“SkinnyTok is just one other version of something we’ve seen prior to now,” said writer Martha Laham when chatting with TODAY.
“The kinds of media and the way we pursue it could be recent, however the thin ideal has all the time been there.”
“Even when a few of the creators have good intentions, they’re sometimes giving nutrition advice, which they mustn’t do,” warned Andrea Mathis, dietitian and blogger at Beautiful Eats and Things.
“Perhaps it starts a technique, however the more you do it with that mindset, it may turn into obsession,” she told the location.
And crash weight-reduction plan doesn’t even work, said Maria AbiHanna, a nutrition expert at Food Label Maker.
“People blame willpower after they can’t keep on with a weight loss plan. The reality is your body is built to withstand rapid fat loss,” AbiHanna said.
“That is where things start to enter disordered territory,” Edwards-Gayfield told TODAY. “It’s time to get help.”
A disturbing trend dubbed “SkinnyTok” is racking up thousands and thousands of views across TikTok, Instagram, Reddit and YouTube, pushing extreme weight reduction tactics, restrictive eating, and toxic “discipline” as the trail to happiness — or at the least thinness.
And it’s sending vulnerable users down a dangerous spiral, experts and survivors warn.
“I do know that if I had seen that [advice] once I was younger, I might have thought I needed it, too,” Phaith Montoya, a body-positive influencer and eating disorder survivor told TODAY.com.
At first glance, TikTok appears to discourage the trend. Searching “SkinnyTok” prompts a message: “You’re greater than your weight,” together with links to eating disorder resources.
But scroll further and the platform serves up infinite videos promoting dangerous “motivation”: skip meals, chug coffee to curb hunger, have fun calorie deficits.
Some slogans read like parodies of self-harm:
“In case your stomach is growling, pretend it’s applauding you.”
“To be small, eat small. To be big, eat big.”
“You don’t need a treat. You’re not a dog.”
It’s triggering major medical red flags, in accordance with internal medicine specialist Dr. Asim Cheema, who flagged the trend to Forbes — including glorifying starvation and reducing food to a soulless utility.
Experts say it’s a rebrand of early-2000s “pro-ana” (pro-anorexia) communities — now with a Gen Z gloss.
“This mindset dismisses the complex realities of genetics, mental health and socioeconomic aspects, promoting shame over support. It’s a toxic narrative disguised as empowerment,” Stephen Buchwald of Manhattan Mental Health, told Forbes.
TikTok’s guidelines say the app “doesn’t allow showing or promoting disordered eating and dangerous weight reduction behaviors.” And users can filter out triggering hashtags.
Still, content that pushes “potentially harmful weight management” can remain — restricted to users over 18 and faraway from the For You page.
And this type of shame-fueled culture isn’t just ineffective — it’s dangerous.
“Seeing curated, unrealistic images of thinness every day could make people feel like they’re never ‘ok.’ This creates a cycle of self-criticism and low self-worth, which may escalate into anxiety and depression,” Buchwald said to Forbes.
He added that teens are especially in danger.
“Adolescents are neurologically wired to hunt approval and belonging, which makes them especially vulnerable to trends like ‘SkinnyTok.’”
Despite backlash to fatphobia and weight loss plan culture, “SkinnyTok” proves the skinny ideal isn’t going anywhere.
“SkinnyTok is just one other version of something we’ve seen prior to now,” said writer Martha Laham when chatting with TODAY.
“The kinds of media and the way we pursue it could be recent, however the thin ideal has all the time been there.”
“Even when a few of the creators have good intentions, they’re sometimes giving nutrition advice, which they mustn’t do,” warned Andrea Mathis, dietitian and blogger at Beautiful Eats and Things.
“Perhaps it starts a technique, however the more you do it with that mindset, it may turn into obsession,” she told the location.
And crash weight-reduction plan doesn’t even work, said Maria AbiHanna, a nutrition expert at Food Label Maker.
“People blame willpower after they can’t keep on with a weight loss plan. The reality is your body is built to withstand rapid fat loss,” AbiHanna said.
“That is where things start to enter disordered territory,” Edwards-Gayfield told TODAY. “It’s time to get help.”
