The rapid normalisation of extreme weight loss has shifted many social media users’ perceptions of what is attractive and ultimately healthy. This trend has been fuelled by the increasing commercialisation of weight loss drugs like Ozempic, which are often presented as quick fixes to body image struggles.

Hollow faces and protruding bones have become the idealised image for who we aspire to be. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said in 2025 it had received five or six complaints of models appearing “unhealthily thin” in one week alone.

What was labelled ‘heroin chic’ in the 1990s is seeing its resurgence in the names of ‘skinnytok’ and ‘thinspiration’. Why after decades are we finding ourselves idolising the glorification of extreme thinness? 

Model and body positivity activist Charli Howard explained that “After the body positivity movement of the 2010s, it was sadly inevitable fashion might swing back […] and we know just how harmful it can be.”  

Too often we see celebrities visibly shrink before our eyes. Whether it’s Ariana Grande, Jenna Ortega or Meghan Trainor, the constant exposure to these transformations can shape how people perceive their own bodies.

Social media thrives on comparison and wouldn’t exist without it. As a result, users are repeatedly exposed to increasingly narrow beauty standards that distort their understanding of what is healthy.

Could it be down to the never-ending cost of living crisis we are all affected by? Or the climate crisis we are currently experiencing? With concerningly low access to natural resources like food and water, is the media trying to convince us we need less when actually what we need is reduced destruction of our planet and our economy.  

The National Health Service (NHS) has stated there are three different body types, all based on genetic factors and are used to help guide exercise and diet plans from medically trained professionals.  

The NHS highlights that it is important to note that physical appearance is not the sole determiner of health; factors such as lifestyle also play a significant role in what is deemed healthy.  

Unfortunately, the Body Mass Index scale (BMI) is still a popular tool used to determine a persons’ health. This scale actually ignores diverse body types and health factors like exercise and muscle mass. 

As a shorter woman, if I was to input my details into the BMI scale, I would be told I am overweight, when actually I am the healthiest I have ever been as it ignores the fact that weight distributes differently for each person and their body.  

This substandard scale has significant contributions to mental health issues like body dysmorphia and eating disorders by reinforcing stigma around weight and promoting harmful dieting and exercise methods.

The most important thing we can continue to do whilst existing in this warped space in our society is to protect our confidence and remind ourselves that bodies are not a trend.  

That can mean filtering key words on social media apps like TikTok and Instagram or pressing the ‘Not Interested’ button on any reels you see that promote harmful ideals.  

As mental health crises in children and young people continue to rise, challenging this agenda of highly strung standards on our bodies is more important than ever. We need to be on the frontlines fighting this emergency we are seeing before it is too late.