Content Warning: This article contains talk of disordered eating habits, dieting, excessive exercise, weight loss/gain, and body dysmorphia. If you or a loved one is struggling, contact a medical professional or call 1-888-375-7767.
“Morning skinny”, “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”, and “bikini body” are phrases that have surged in popularity in recent years. These seemingly benign phrases put thinness at the forefront of health and wellness culture. This harmful behavior stirs collective attitudes against body acceptance, creating a societal backslide into the body norms of the past.
Low-calorie recipes, protein-packed desserts, and HIIT workouts dominate For You pages around the country, endorsed by unattainably skinny influencers and celebrities. These precedents infiltrate the minds of young women, leading many to reflect on their bodies in a negative light. The rebranding of diet culture in 2025 has disguised itself in unimaginable ways — a trendy nightmare we all wish to keep in the years of Tumblr thinspo.
The age of oxempic & “eating small”
It is undeniable that, as a culture, we are moving backwards in the fight for body acceptance. With the rise in use of Oxempic, “thin is in”. Celebrities are thinner than ever, and influencers who use the drug omit confessions of Ozempic usage in their workout and dieting videos. Not only does this create a false narrative for young women, but it also fosters health frustration, giving way to disordered eating habits.
Not only is the use of Ozempic creating a toxic space for body positivity, but the normalization of under-eating and overexercising motivates viewers to damage their health in the pursuit of unachievable thinness. Influencers like Liv Schmitt preach eating low-calorie foods over prioritizing daily nutrient value.
Not only that, but Liv emphasizes the way that “skinny feels” over listening to your body. While Liv encourages exercise, her focus on the treatment society gave her after losing weight once again stigmatizes anything that isn’t skinny. Liv’s ban from TikTok seems like a narrative we all know too well — The Tumblr thinspo trend to ban pipeline, a dystopian return to toxic body image culture.
Bringing bodies back
While this disappointing “skinny surge” is undeniably damaging to body image, women’s health, and generational values, this isn’t to say we can’t bring body positivity back to the forefront. There are many ways you can take control of your body image and drown out the noise of toxic diet culture.
Rewording Body banter
Omitting damaging phrases is the easiest way to encourage yourself and others to hold a kinder image of our bodies. Taking out “bikini body”, “cheat meal”, “guilt-free foods”, and “to be small, eat small”, is a great way to start. By using these phrases, not only are you demonizing the foods that give us the fuel to function, but you are characterizing your body as something that should fit into a mold. These “SkinnyTok” phrases can not only be damaging to yourself, but create a vacuum of comparison for those around you, leading peers to compare themselves to you and others online.
Learning your body
Educating yourself on healthy approaches to nutrition and exercise arms you with a powerful tool; investing in your health. By educating yourself and working on listening to your body, you can become healthy for yourself. Instead of listening to what works for others, which I admit is an easy path to fall into, creating health for yourself allows you to be protected from the fads of diet culture.
Reclaiming movement
Implementing movement into your daily routine, for the joy it brings you. Diet culture can spin movement to be a punishment, but movement is a cornerstone for mental and physical health. Nearly 32% of women engage in movement to reduce their body size, and learning that movement is much more valuable than body image is a crucial aspect of a journey towards self-love.
While the prevalence of diet trends can be difficult to ignore, there are many ways to support yourself and others on your wellness journey. Encouraging positive body images goes further than just supporting others, you must apply body image love to yourself too.