Latest news with #bodyimage
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Local woman to attempt English Channel swim this week
A local woman is preparing to swim the English Channel this week. Amy Wamsley is from Yellow Springs and, according to her social media, went to England earlier this month. Wamsley is expecting to swim the channel this week, but the exact timing is variable. Advertisement [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] 'Not tonight!' Wamsley posted on her social media. 'I call again tomorrow 6/2 at 7:30pm to find out if we go! This is going to be a rollercoaster… time to enjoy the ride!' Wamsley's goal is to swim the English Channel for her 50th birthday, a goal she decided on when she was 12-years-old, according to her website The site says she is swimming to support women's body image as well as water conservation. TRENDING STORIES: Wamsley will be attempting to swim from England to France, which is over 20 miles of open water. 'We envision a movement where women, inspired by Amy's courage and determination, embrace their own potential, overcome societal barriers, and contribute their unique perspectives to their communities,' Wamsley's website says. Advertisement For those wishing to follow along with her journey, Wamsley is posting updates on her Facebook and will be tracking her swim across the channel. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Health Line
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Health Line
What Is ‘Skinny Tok?' Experts Debunk the Harmful TikTok Trend for Weight Loss
' Skinny Tok,' an extreme form of dieting that equates thinness with health, continues to trend on TikTok. Experts warn that the trend perpetuates negative body image and toxic diet culture. Extreme calorie restriction has mental and physical consequences. There are many sustainable, evidence-based ways to achieve a healthy weight. A harmful and misleading body image trend continues to surface on TikTok. So-called 'Skinny Tok' is a controversial corner of the social media platform where proponents tout extreme thinness under the guise of wellness and lifestyle advice. Leading the Skinny Tok movement is Gen Z influencer Liv Schmidt, who rose to internet fame by sharing what she referred to as 'skinny girl hacks.' Her content, which included low calorie 'What I Eat in a Day' videos, sparked widespread concern about its potential to normalize disordered eating. After being banned from TikTok in 2024 for violating the platform's community guidelines, Schmidt resurfaced with a new username. Skinny Tok content continues to gain traction. There are currently over 74,000 videos shared under the #skinnytok hashtag, many of which share extreme calorie deficits and regular body checks, where users document their shrinking bodies. Skinny Tok: A dangerous way to lose weight Registered dietitian Emily Van Eck, described the trend as a 'dangerous' and 'extreme' take on weight loss and health. 'Glorifying thinness as a marker of morality, health, or discipline is harmful to physical, emotional, and mental health,' she told Healthline. 'Dieting is a major risk factor for eating disorders, and the younger someone starts, the higher their risk. Because these videos often feature teenagers and young adults, they're especially concerning.' Van Eck noted the vilifying of essential macronutrients (in particular carbohydrates and fats) as another red flag. 'Our bodies need these nutrients,' she said. Lindsie Meek, founder of HumanMend, an eating disorder and anxiety psychotherapy practice in New York City, said the trend perpetuates harmful diet culture, celebrates extreme thinness, and promotes unrealistic body standards. 'The 'What I eat in a day' content is particularly harmful because it suggests all bodies have the same nutritional needs,' she told Healthline. 'These posts don't take into consideration individual body factors, such as genetics and health needs.' Risks of extreme calorie restriction Some influencers promoting this trend share very low calorie diets. Both experts agreed that extreme calorie restriction has mental and physical consequences. 'On 800 calories per day, it's virtually impossible to meet your body's nutrient needs,' Van Eck said. 'Deficiencies in iron, B12, and calcium are common, which can lead to fatigue, low mood, poor sleep, and muscle loss. Over time, undernourishment can cause immune dysfunction, hypothalamic amenorrhea (which causes infertility), and bone loss,' she noted. From a mental health perspective, Meek said dieting to the extreme could contribute to 'exaggerated or limited mood fluctuations and obsessive thoughts about food and body image.' Many of these videos frame weight loss and extreme thinness as the ultimate sign of health, a narrative that is dangerous and misleading. 'Weight is not a reliable indicator of health status,' said Meek. 'Health is multifaceted and cannot be determined by appearance alone. 'People in thin bodies may or may not be healthy, just as people in larger bodies may or may not be healthy,' she continued. Meek noted that true health isn't a body size; it encompasses physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being. Healthy weight loss vs. disordered eating Not all weight loss is bad. There are healthy, sustainable ways to reach a healthy weight, but with so much conflicting advice online, it can be difficult to know what's helpful and what's extreme. Van Eck agreed. 'The line between intentional weight loss and disordered eating can be blurry, especially online, where extreme behaviors are often framed as wellness and get rewarded with massive attention due to their polarizing nature,' she pointed out. For Van Eck, health-supportive behavior change feels like part of a broader self-care routine. 'It's flexible and rooted in nourishment, not fear or punishment,' she said. Disordered eating on the other hand, often shows up as rigid food rules, food guilt, and obsessive control. 'If someone feels anxious deviating from a plan, skips meals to earn food, or thinks about food and their body constantly, that's disordered, even if it's normalized online,' Van Eck said. If in doubt, Meek recommended assessing how the behaviors impact your daily life. 'If weight loss is the goal, it's important to consistently assess flexibility and anxiety levels when plans change, as disordered patterns are often rigid and distressing,' she said. 'Disordered eating also typically interferes with relationships, work, and life enjoyment, whereas balanced approaches enhance overall well-being.' Achieving a healthy weight Despite recent strides made by the body positivity movement, mainstream culture continues to conflate thinness with health. According to Van Eck, part of the issue may be tied to misconceptions about healthy body weight. 'Healthy weight is a term I often find problematic. The metrics we use, like BMI, are deeply flawed and don't account for natural, individual variation,' Van Eck said. 'If we define it more functionally, a healthy weight is the range your body naturally lands when you're eating enough, moving in ways that feel good, and not caught in the restrict-obsess-repeat cycle.' There are many sustainable, evidence-based ways to get into this healthy zone. 'If someone wants to support their health long term, the most sustainable approach is to focus on behavior, not the weight. 'That includes eating regular, balanced meals with enough energy, fiber, protein, and fat to support fullness and satisfaction,' she said. It also means honoring hunger cues, finding enjoyable movement, and addressing sleep, stress, and emotional health. Another way to support yourself is to ditch the idea that foods are inherently good or bad. 'Virtually everyone in our culture has been influenced to some extent by toxic diet culture. Healing involves rejecting food morality by challenging the idea that certain foods are good or bad,' said Meek. Diet trends like Skinny Tok can reinforce dangerous ideas around weight loss and health, but true wellness is multi-dimensional. 'Equating thinness with health ignores human complexity and reinforces weight stigma,' Van Eck said. manage stress, sleep, and connect with others, than it is in a size.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
PSA: You Probably Don't Need To Be Weighed At The Doctor's Office
For many struggling with body image, heading to the doctor for a specific health issue or even just a routine checkup is more stressful than it needs to be. Weigh-ins are a standard practice before you see your doctor, but if you've experienced an eating disorder or are self-conscious about your weight, jumping on a scale in the middle of a busy hallway is a tall order. But here's an underdiscussed secret: You really don't have to be weighed every time you go to the doctor. 'It is entirely correct that after age 18, most people do not need to be weighed at the doctor's office,' Jennifer Gaudiani, a Denver-based physician who treats patients with eating disorders, told HuffPost. Of course, there are a handful of exceptions: Weight understandably needs to be tracked when a patient with an eating disorder has specific weight needs in order to treat the disease. If someone comes in and is concerned about unexplained weight loss, that needs to be measured and watched, too. 'And young children need to have weight and height monitored to make sure growth is proceeding properly,' Gaudiani said. 'Pregnant people also need to have weights followed ― although they don't need to have the weights revealed or discussed ― to be sure baby is getting what baby needs.' But outside of exceptions like these, Gaudiani said she's confident that '90%' of weigh-ins taken at medical offices are entirely unnecessary. 'What that means is someone coming in to talk about their depression, digestion, substance use or twisted ankle can find themselves on the other end of a lecture about weight and weight loss,' she said. That sometimes results in weight-conscious patients avoiding health checkups altogether. 'Unnecessary weigh-ins chill patients' willingness to see medical providers, waste everyone's time, fail to address the most important concerns of the patient, and may push individuals into cycles of dieting, maybe some weight loss, then regaining even more,' she said. Given Gaudiani's thoughts on weigh-ins, she was thrilled last month when she saw these 'Please Don't Weigh Me' cards trending on Twitter: The cards, created by eating disorder recovery site read: 'Please don't weigh me unless it's (really) medically necessary,' adding: 'If you really need my weight, please tell me why so that I can give you my informed consent.' The cards were initially free for individuals but now cost $1 each due to demand. There's an option for health care providers to purchase a batch, at $35 per 100 cards. The site also offers 'please don't talk about my child's weight' cards to parents, to kick off important conversations with kids about the often unfair conflation of weight with good health in advance of a checkup. (Children need to be weighed but the card says, 'If you have any questions, ask me when my child is not present.') 'I'm a fan of these cards because it's a starting point where the patient or parent doesn't have to come up with all the words and reasons themselves, but rather has the support of the card as a neutral object to try and advocate for their bodies,' Gaudiani said. Ginny Jones, the founder of created the initial batch of cards back in 2019. In recovery from her eating disorder, Jones had begun asking not to be weighed at doctor's appointments. She soon realized not everyone knew that was an option. Getting health care providers on board with the cards has been great ― 200 providers have ordered anywhere from 100 to 500 cards for their offices, Jones said ― but the responses she's received from individuals has been the most heartening. 'The best feedback I hear from patients is, 'I made my first appointment in years!'' Jones said. 'I'm shocked to hear personally from so many people who are delaying health care because they hate stepping on the scale. I love that these cards give them the confidence to walk back into a health care provider's office.' Gregory Walters, a writer and educator from Vancouver, British Columbia, who was diagnosed with anorexia in his 50s, sees the card as a simple but effective tool to empower patients to advocate for themselves. Being weighed triggers Walters, but in the past, he struggled to discuss it with health care providers. 'Under no circumstances can I know my weight,' he told HuffPost. 'If it's more than I expect, I amp up my eating disorder behaviors. If it's less, it becomes a weird game where I decide to see how much lower I can go.' Walters hasn't weighed himself in more than 10 years. When he spent six weeks in the hospital in 2019 for eating disorder treatment, they did blind weigh-ins around 6 a.m. every Monday. 'We always stood on the scale, facing away from it, which as a method of weighing me was affirming,' he said. 'It told me the doctors and staff understood how traumatizing a number related to one's weight can be.' Before that, he would just close his eyes when stepping on a scale at a doctor's office and say emphatically, 'I don't want to know.' These days, Walters' family doctor has learned about his triggers, but he knows how hard it can be to speak up for yourself. 'It can be challenging for anyone to talk with doctors,' he said. 'Their time can feel limited. As a patient you can feel intimidated due to a perceived imbalance in terms of education and knowledge.' The card 'allows a patient to quickly get a message across without having to stumble and bumble through an extremely uncomfortable conversation,' he said. In an ideal world, it wouldn't be such an uncomfortable conversation. Asking not to be weighed should be as simple as stating, 'I'd prefer not to be weighed today.' Unfortunately, it's not always that easy, according to Gaudiani. If you say you don't want to be weighed and are challenged, Gaudiani said to tell the nurse, 'Thanks for letting me know it's standard, but this is my body, and I'm electing not to be weighed. You may write 'declined' on my note for insurance purposes. I'm happy to discuss it further with my doctor.' If the doctor challenges you, bring up the medical issue that brought you into their office in the first place. 'That might sound like, 'I have a short amount of time with you, and I really need to discuss my back pain, my constipation and my asthma today. Let's focus on that, please,'' Gaudiani said. Since going viral, the cards have received some criticism from people online who think the cards are enabling or will do damage to public health given the obesity epidemic in America. Shana Spence, a registered dietitian nutritionist based in New York, said she thinks weight stigma and a larger trend of fatphobia in the medical field does greater damage to the quality of health care and health outcomes than any card could ever do. 'Fatphobia in the medical field often translates into a lack of diagnosing for ailments,' she said. 'When someone goes in for pain or whatever ailment, it's extremely discouraging to be told to just lose weight or simply ignored altogether. What are those in thinner bodies told for the same ailments?' Spence said there are many instances when people in larger bodies are congratulated on weight loss, no matter how unnatural or unhealthy it is. 'Even a thin or straight-sized person is congratulated on weight loss because we as a society are very weight-centric,' Spence said. A 2012 survey of almost 2,500 U.S. women found that 69% reported feeling stigmatized for their weight by their doctors and 52% endured recurring fat bias. As Spence pointed out, diagnoses are often missed because providers are fixated on the number on the scale rather than the full picture of health. A review of studies published in the journal Obesity Reviews in 2015 showed that health care professionals' negative feelings about fat bodies can lead to misdiagnosis and late or missed diagnoses, negatively impacting patient outcomes. Studies have also shown that this bias makes women and people in larger-sized bodies less likely to seek health care in the first place. The good news is, more weight- and body-neutral doctors seem to be entering the profession. Some doctors have adopted a Health at Every Size, or HAES, approach to public health. HAES-aligned health care providers seek to deemphasize weight loss as a health goal while reducing stigma toward larger bodies in the medical field. Most HAES health care providers believe that the current practice of linking weight to health using body mass index standards is not only biased but unhelpful when it comes to weight loss. (If you're looking for a HAES-informed health care provider in your area, there's an online database that you can search by area or specialty.) A 2017 study out of the University of Pennsylvania found that when people feel shamed because of their weight, they are more likely to avoid exercise and consume more calories to cope with this stress. Spence noted that healthy solutions include encouraging patients to incorporate more fruits, vegetables and fiber-rich foods into their diets, work on strategies to quit smoking and focus on mental health, since stress can contribute to many health problems, including high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. 'There is no need to concentrate on numbers constantly,' she said. At the very least, medical professionals should start asking patients if they want to be told their weight. When Gaudiani consults with fellow medical practitioners who aren't quite on board with radically reduced weight checks, she asks them at least to consider asking for consent. 'A doctor or staff could say, 'Would you be willing for me to check your weight today? I was worried last month when you said you were feeling low energy and having a harder time getting in your meals, and I'd like to follow up,'' Gaudiani said. 'So much of medicine assumes permission to act upon patients' bodies, when in fact we need to be honoring body autonomy and seeking consent much more.' What To Do If Your Doctor Fat Shames You Being Fat Is Not A Moral Failure. Here's How To Teach Your Kids That. Your Body On Alcohol: How It Affects Your Heart, Liver, Weight And Cancer Risk
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Big breasts, curves and plump, juicy lips. How Kylie Jenner's 'slim thick' body became the ideal of female beauty - as more young women transform into cartoonish cyborgs: FARRAH STORR
It is one of the most famous physiques in the world, with high-hoisted breasts, a round, almost cartoonish bottom, and a waist so small it looks as though it has passed through a funhouse mirror. But whatever you think of Kylie Jenner 's body – and there are lots of thoughts about it – it is one of the most influential ideals of female beauty in the world right now.
The Sun
25-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
I hated my massive 36J boobs that dangled ‘down to my stomach' – but had to go abroad for risky op as no one would help
A MUM with massive boobs dangling "down to her stomach" was forced to travel over a thousand miles for a risky operation when no one would help. Zara Armstrong, 39, flew to Lithuania and forked out £4,000 for breast reduction surgery - after years of mental and physical suffering. 5 5 Despite regular appointments with her doctor for back aches, she claims she was refused an operation to reduce the size of her 36J cup breasts by the HSE, Ireland's national Health Service. In an interview with The Sun, she spoke of her turmoil leading up to the "life-changing" surgery and why she wishes she could have had it sooner. She said: "I was constantly hunched over because they were so heavy. My back was always sore, I was at the doctors all the time and had to take strong painkillers. "I had to get massages done on my shoulders after for a bit because I was tense from being hunched over." The psychological trauma, however, was sometimes worse than the physical pain, with many of her formative years spent trying to cover her assets. She said: "I was so self-conscious all the time. Just really insecure. When I was younger, probably 13 or 14, I used to tape them down. "I found women were worse than men. People would be talking to me but I knew they weren't really talking to me. "On holiday, I would constantly be looked at with people commenting: 'Oh my God, your boobs are big'. "I was put on anti-depressants over it because I was so self-conscious and anxious." Finding clothes to fit her small frame and big bust also proved a logistical nightmare and she was often forced to buy tops that were 10 sizes too big. I was left with saggy, bowling ball boobs after kids so got a 'Lithuania lift' for £6.2K - now I have my 24-year-old perky breasts back Women seeking breast reduction surgery on the NHS might be covered if they can prove other options, such as wearing professionally fitted bras, have not worked. They may also be considered for treatment if they can prove their breasts are causing undue mental or physical pain. But the criteria is dependent on where you live. According to Dr. Mantas Kievisas, a plastic surgeon at Nordesthetics clinic where Zara was treated, patients often must prove "exceptional circumstances" to be treated by public healthcare providers. "They must endure long waiting lists, and often face outright rejection, forcing them to turn to private care," he said. I was sick of my 28Gs so went to the 'booby doc' for a reduction – I had to wear 'heavy duty' bras & was in so much pain By Claudia Jackson A WOMAN has opened up about her choice to get a reduction after struggling with her 28G breasts. Siff Haider discussed her surgery on The Dream Bigger podcast, and admitted that people don't realise how hard it can be. The entrepreneur and podcast host explained she wanted a breast reduction for years before she finally went through with it. "It is very impractical to do regular things with boobs that size, quite frankly," she said. Running and working out required "heavy duty" sports bras, and Siff experienced shoulder, back and neck pain, all because of her chest size. "I was just always sore in my upper body and I was just kind of done with it," she said. But with private surgery in the UK costing up to £10,000, many women have chosen to go abroad to undergo the life-altering operation. For Zara, the thought of going under the knife abroad was "scary" because of being so far from home. But the operation "couldn't have gone better" - going from a 36J cup to a more manageable 36D. She is now encouraging women to take the leap if the NHS or HSE refuse them an operation. She said: "It's life changing. I just feel like a completely different person. "I've got a new lease of life and I'm so much happier and I just wish I had done it years ago and not been so afraid." Two kilos removed from breasts Since the operation, when two kilograms were removed from her breasts, Zara's confidence has sky-rocketed. So much so, she even has plans to come off her antidepressants. She said: "I'm not hunched over now. I can straighten my back and my shoulders. "I'm so much more confident. I went away last September and I was able to put a bikini on and not be afraid or wear a little top and not be self-conscious. "I could wear it and nobody even looked - it was great. I was no longer nervous about going out or anxious about being stared at." Mater Hospital said: "The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital's priority is to be at the frontier of compassion, concern and clinical care for all our patients and their families. "The Mater Hospital cannot comment on individual patient cases for confidentiality reasons. "Maintaining a patient's confidentiality is not only an ethical requirement of the hospital, it is also a legal requirement as defined in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) along with the Data Protection Acts 1988-2018. "When a patient or family makes personal information public, this does not relieve the Mater Hospital of its duty to uphold patient confidentiality at all times. "If any patient has any concerns about the treatment they received at the Mater Hospital, we encourage them to get in contact either by phone, email or letter. "We are committed to listening and learning from our valued patients' experiences to constantly improve the services we provide." 5 5
