scheduled tribeYouTikTok is starting to debunk dangerous and “do it yourself” diets that promise surprising and rapid weight loss. They are recommended by influential people who become role models to follow. The risks are anorexia, overeating and bulimia. here because
The new restrictive and punitive diet craze is taking off on TikTok. Each of these – as studies by the company Alurean (specialized in food education and weight loss) show – are characterized by intermittent severe food restrictions that often eliminate essential nutrients from the meal plan.
tiktok diet results
Extreme and fast diets, such as the “coquette diet”, “military diet” and “K-pop idol diet”, present significant risks for very young children. These three examples are emblematic of the relationship between the culture of beauty that young people develop on stage and the desire to achieve results as quickly as possible and at any cost. We talked about it with a nutritionist who has been involved in scientific dissemination on social networks for years: Martina Donegani, He was quick to clarify that these practices have negative effects, especially on a psychological level. “There is a risk, especially when we are dealing with adolescents, of relapse into eating disorders – such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia”.
There bulimia nervosaNotably, this appears to be a worrying consequence of the TikTok diet. To date, more than three million people in Italy are affected by eating disorders; More than 18% of cases are affected by this pathology. is another growing disorder binge eating, which affects more than 14% of cases. This word, which literally translates as “excess”, indicates a disorder of excessive eating. People who suffer from this have to go through the problem of excessive eating at regular intervals.
As Dr. Donegani points out, overeating is a serious risk for those who undergo these TikTok diets. “On the days when free eating is allowed, the body receives everything it needs and which it deprived itself of on previous days, and therefore we consume more than we need, even more than we need.” eat twice as much.”
heart sense
inspired by the so-called “coquette diet” Coitus Aestheticsa real trend on social media that comes from the cinema and music days. bubbly girls Their cheeks are rosy and lips glossed, they wear lace, they emphasize their femininity and present themselves as eternal little girls. Icons are the pop star Lana Del Rey and, above all, Lily Rose Depp, the supermodel daughter of the arts, who with her slim body and nymph face is considered one of the personalities of the moment. More and more girls covet his body at the cost of all kinds of sacrifices.
La Coquette Diet
There coitus diet Designed for: This is an extreme form of calorie restriction in which very small amounts of food are consumed, at most equal to a few hundred calories a day, For rapid weight loss by eliminating entire food groups such as carbohydrates or fats.
as the doctors say Donegani, the TikTok diet is “launched not by professionals, but by influencers and girls who are taken as a model.” Just type the word into the app’s search bar and find yourself bombarded with videos in which very popular girls film what they eat during the day, and convince their young and confident followers to be real. Cohabitation Make them like you by following simple steps».
military diet
The military diet is a diet that cyclically returns to fashion on health and beauty forums. It is proven that the losses from it are more than the benefits, but it seems to be brought back to us from time to time.
It’s an extreme diet, structured three days a week cycle During which specific foods are consumed in precise amounts, which reactivate the metabolism, thereby promoting weight loss. This involves following a low-calorie meal plan for the first three days, followed by a less restrictive diet for four days.
This exercise promises to drop up to 4 kilos in just a few days and seems to be the secret behind Khloe Kardashian’s apparent and sudden weight loss. Martina Donegni explains, “This diet doesn’t teach you to eat better, but to eat less and less until you start eating realistically more to respond to the body’s demands.” “It is very difficult to limit yourself to this for a long time and therefore the natural result is that the weight is not only not improved, but also increased compared to the previous period.”
k-pop culture
The latest TikTok diet is inspired by the stars of K-pop (Korean pop music), which is increasingly loved and influenced by teenagers around the world. these artists are really called idols, idols: they should not only inspire from an artistic point of view, but should be seen as role models for life. From flawless performance to sculpted physique, idols should always be perfect.
Since these are characters who come from another state, it is necessary for anyone who is passionate about their music to approach the often very obvious cultural differences. Access to information is not easy for everyone, especially very young people. The risk is to imitate deeply wrong and harmful behaviour.
Korean food turned into an extreme diet
idols They are greatly admired for their physical appearance, so much so that today many of them are single. ambassadors Fashion brands such as Céline (Lisa Manobal “LaLisa” of Blackpink), Dior (Kim Taehyung “V” of BTS) and Gucci (Hanni Pham of Newjeans). Not all young followers know that his image is the result of a very strict diet and excessive habits, even from the point of view of physical exercise. Above all, very few people know that his image often serves as a cover for toxic propaganda messages.
The K-pop phenomenon really spread to Korea after the economic boom and became central in the late 1980s, when the government began using celebrities from the world of music and culture to advance anti-communist ideals and pro-government. Started. Today, the world of K-pop is much more independent, but still deeply entwined with politics. These celebrities are used to advertise all kinds of products and national beauty ideals: the appearance of idols is the result of discipline and sacrifice, It shows that everything can be achieved with effort and commitment.
Foods that are healthy and natural are at the center of their diet and this is also attributed to political reasons. After the economic boom, the kingdom opened the door to the West and adopted its own diet, away from the traditional Korean diet, which consisted mainly of vegetables. In the early 1990s, this led to a slight increase in the number of obese and overweight people and thus became a matter of concern for the government. The diets sponsored by these characters revert to traditional diets in order to spread the idea that the new Western diet is unhealthy.
k-pop idol diet
These practices include extreme calorie restriction and limited food choices. For example, they may involve eating only apples or sweet potatoes for long periods of time. “These diets eliminate foods that the body really needs.” Dr. Donegani explains. “In fact, this type of diet leads to loss of muscle tissue and fluids, nutrient deficiencies, physical and above all mental fatigue”.
they are often the same idols To share advice on nutrition. Such was the case with BTS band member Park Namjoon “RM”, who advised a female fan to fast in the evening to feel better the next day. fans are motivated to defend these behaviors, Presenting them as valuable advice that idols give to them based on the relationship of trust that binds them. They justify their eating habits by claiming that they are healthy because they get enough physical exercise. Donegani is strict on this: «This type of diet is not healthy for anyone from a macronutrient perspective. Obviously, like us, these characters also show on social networks what they want from their lives.
not just negative examples on tiktok
Thanks to social media, there are many positive examples of outreach to combat these harmful practices. Experts who have managed to create highly followed communities in which they disseminate useful information to all interested parties, such as Martina Donegani herself, who is followed by over 167,000 people on Instagram and 265,000 people on TikTok.
Through these platforms it is possible to identify false myths and improve one’s lifestyle without resorting to useless and harmful sacrifices. It is important to remember that the problem is never the medium, in this case TikTok, but rather how it is used.