'SkinnyTok': Dangerous TikTok Trend Glorifies Starvation, Experts Warn

A concerning trend known as "SkinnyTok" is gaining traction across platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, and YouTube. This trend promotes extreme weight loss tactics, restrictive eating habits, and toxic discipline as pathways to happiness or thinness. Experts and survivors warn that such content is leading vulnerable users down a dangerous spiral. Influencers like Liv Schmidt have been banned from TikTok for sharing disordered eating advice, yet the trend persists, raising alarms about the impact on young audiences.

According to Forbes, Dr Asim Cheema, an internal medicine specialist, sounds the alarm that "SkinnyTok" raises five serious medical concerns.

• Teaching followers that feeling hungry is a sign your body is burning fat, rather than a natural biological signal.
• Encouraging viewers to see food purely as fuel, stripping away the pleasure and social aspects of eating
• Suggesting dangerous practices like eating only once daily or surviving on minimal amounts of food (often just fruit)
• Using excessive water, coffee, or other fluids to suppress natural hunger cues
• Framing these restrictive behaviours as wellness practices rather than what they often are--disordered eating patterns

Health expert Stephen Buchwald told Forbes that one of the most dangerous aspects of "SkinnyTok" is the illusion it creates that achieving a certain body type is purely a matter of willpower. "This mindset dismisses the complex realities of genetics, mental health, and socioeconomic factors, promoting shame over support. It's a toxic narrative disguised as empowerment," he explains.

According to Maria AbiHanna, a nutrition expert at Food Label Maker, crash diets are a popular go-to before summer, promising quick results just in time for the season. "But research shows they often work against your body, triggering responses that make weight loss harder, not easier," she points out. "People blame willpower when they can't stick with a diet. The truth is that your body is built to resist rapid fat loss. So, the key is working with your biology, not against it."