- Olympian Eileen Gu previously told the New York Times that TikTok influenced her eating habits.
- He said he struggled to eat enough, comparing his meals to the “what I eat in a day” trending videos on TikTok.
- Experts say curated “clean” eating routines can be misleading and promote disordered eating.
Freestyle skier Eileen Gu, who won a Women’s Big Air Freestyle Gold Medal in Beijing, he previously told the New York Times who struggled to eat little last year, influenced by TikTok diet videos. Since she works with a nutritionist and eats more, her mood and performance have improved, she said in the interview.
“Being skinny isn’t really that good if it compromises your strength,” Gu said. “I just wasn’t eating enough, or I wasn’t eating the right way. I was counting calories and thinking about food all the time.”
The 18-year-old said she “got stuck” on the video app in the early months of the pandemic, watching popular “what I eat in a day” videos, in which influencers share details of their daily fitness routines. foods.
Gu, who is also a model, said she later realized that the videos influenced her own eating habits, leading her to compare her own food choices, like a competition.
“I was looking at what the girls were eating, and then I looked at what I ate in one day, and it seemed like a lot,” she told the Times.
Gu said he later started working with a nutritionist once a month and started eating at least 2,000 calories a day, sometimes more.
He said his appearance and weight didn’t change, but he felt more capable of handling long training sessions.
“I feel much happier and healthier,” Gu said.
Experts say TikTok diet trends may contribute to unhealthy eating habits
Dietitians have called the “what I eat in a day” trend misguided, as nutritional needs are personal and the healthy range of calories can vary widely. Following an Influencer or Celebrity’s Routine ‘It Might Actually Be the Complete Opposite of What the Person Needs’, Registered Nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert previously told Insider’s Rachel Hosie.
People posting their daily diet may mean well, however the posts can be misleading, often depicting a carefully selected “clean” eating routine that is unrealistic and unhealthy for many people, dietician Tai Ibitoye he previously told Insider.
The content may also falsely imply that following an influencer or celebrity diet can help people achieve a similar physique. Body size is influenced by many factors and it is unlikely that one influencer’s routine will be appropriate for all of their followers.
Some creators have taken a anti-diet approach to trendreplacing notoriously healthy green juices and salads with pizza and ice cream.
other influencers, who previously shared their daily eating habits have since walked away from the trend, concerned it could have unintended harmful effects on viewers.
