The TRUTH about #SK*NNITOK…Why We Got Here & Why It’s a Problem
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Sk*nniTok is exploding on TikTok, and toxic sk*nni aesthetics, diet culture trends, and harmful "what I eat in a day" content are everywhere. I’m Abbey Sharp, a registered dietitian, and in today’s video, I’m diving into why this dangerous trend is gaining so much traction. Six months ago, it felt like we were all ready to push back against these harmful messages. But now, we’re seeing the normalization and even celebration of disordered eating content disguised as “wellness.”
This is the first in a new series where I’ll be unpacking toxic TikTok trends, dismantling misinformation, and offering realistic, nourishing alternatives. As always, my goal is to promote intuitive eating, body respect, and mental health over restriction and fear. If you're tired of diet culture's constant evolution, you're not alone. Subscribe, comment with your questions, and let me know what you want me to break down next! ⭐
#Sk*nniTok #DietCulture #AntiDietCulture #AbbeysKitchen #NutritionMyths #MentalHealthMatters
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Xoxo Abbey 🌸
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As someone who had an E.d I feel so sad for people who think being skinny is equal to being happy , content creators like yourself made me change that mentality to wanting to be strong af and that does not happen with deprivation , strong is sexy af girls 💪
I’m so glad my content has helped you in that way! And yes, STRONG IS SUPER SEXY!!
Strong is sexy and sexy is also not the end all be all of your value as a woman or human being!
As a 90s baby, skinny being the beauty standard was essentially tattooed onto my brain from childhood. I remember magazines shaming normal bodied women for being “fat” (ie. Jessica Simpson) and having cellulite. This was followed by pro anorexia rhetoric via Tumblr and Instagram during my teenage years. I thought by the time I reached early adulthood that we were moving far away from these damaging standards and ideologies. It’s very disturbing to see it returning to the mainstream once again and I feel so sad for all of the young impressionable women consuming this content.
The 90s were ROUGH, and it’s so sad that we’re circled back to it.
So much respect to you for not backing down on this topic. Thank you.
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Thank you for this video, Abbey! As usual, your content is informative and empathetic. Such an important topic!
I do like it,this video. In fact, parts made me cry. I grew up in the Jane Fonda jazzercise tights and no-eating era, the exercise til you drop era then have a banana. We didn’t know she smoked and did speed. It’s tough to learn how to be healthy when for 40 years all that was out there was skinnytok–to the point where when someone told us we were “too” skinny, we heard “you’re beautiful”. One thought–there are no ugly humans. Society praises symmetrical facial features and bodies, a gift from the creator, not something we ourselves accomplished.
Thankyou so much for posting videos like this. More people need to hear this. I’ve been eating under 500 cals for 4 months and lost a lot of weight. Then now Im like why? who am i doing this for? I was never overweight I was perfectly healthy! Im trying to eat more now and these videos really help.
From the fashion history side, the “Gibson girl” (and earlier trends for that matter) was not dependent on body type/shape/diet. At the time, the figure was achieved by building up support garments. They changed their clothes, whereas now people are expected to change their bodies. Tight lacing was not the norm, removing ribs is a myth, corsets were effective support garments (that are actually easier on the back for large busted people than modern bras). While unhealthy beauty standards definitely have always existed, so much of the super unhealthy diet culture and body expectations come from the changing fashion industry. The 1890s suddenly say small waist and big butt is in? Just add a bustle, no weight change needed. The victorian and edwardian women appeared to be very skinny, but this is largely an illusion created by predominantly small garments surviving (fabric from bigger sized dresses was often reused) and the way clothing itself was structured. Abby is doing God’s work out here addressing the diet culture and nutrition side of things, but addressing fashion and how we approach clothing will also help in the long run.
The Abby’s kitchen and Mina Le crossover episode we need
Took the words right out of my mouth! Excellent summary.
Don’t forget the early version of “photoshop” where they would color in or alter the developed photos or the negatives to make the waist smaller. But yes I wish we could actually embrace what was healthy for each individual and go back to changing the clothes for style and not the body. Though we would need to also bring back having the majority of clothing materials be natural and not the plastic synthetic stuff.
I used to be a person who ate a ton but never gained weight. It turned out I had undiagnosed Crohns disease so my body wasn’t digesting my food properly. Now I’m medicated for it, and healthier than before even though most people would say I need to lose some weight. My specialist who treats the Crohns has specifically told me how happy he is with my weight gain – it’s a good sign! At least for me, it was not a sign of health to eat like the Gilmore Girls and still look like the Gilmore Girls.
Recently my bestie’s husband got diagnosed with live scirossis, and the doctor specifically told us to not go to bed with an empty stomach. And also to take high protein diet.
Being too thin is as unhealthy as being obese. So tired of the extremes.
Such a good psychological synthesis of the trends!
Thank you so much! I’m so tired and overwhelmed by this trend. It’s so refreshing to see FINALLY normal person with an actual degree and knowledge in nutrition.What’s actually worse is that even my friends love this “trend” and all of these things are so normalized that’s it’s EVERYWHERE. It’s like people completely lost their mind,brainedwashed and it’s absolutely overwhelming to be completely surrendered by people who have such disordered mindsets, judgements and expecially, behavior.
Finding balance in food is soooooo hard. Having had an eating disorder for most of my life, I’ve never been able to shut that food talk off in my brain. Your content is super helpful Abby thank you!
Thank you thank you thaaaaaank yoouuuuuuuuuuu!!!!! LOUDER!!!! LOUDER!!! Best VIDEO EVER on nutrition recommendations!!!!!! Sharing this one asap!!!! 🎉
Just my opinion as someone who has many naturally very skinny “flat” friends or family. Id refrain from calling those body types as “boyish”
A lot of the times, those girls already feel like they arent “woman” enough bc they are “straight thin bodies” and hearing YOU, a professional, describe womans bodies as “boyish” is doing even more harm.
Abbey! I have struggled with disordered eating for the past three years. It was the worst when I had ACL surgery about six months ago. Watching your videos has helped me realize that being skinny doesn’t equal being healthy and that women (especially women who compete in sports) need to eat! I just want to thank you for continuing to support a shift to a more healthy standard for women.
I lost 25lbs last year following your advice. I was on a moderate calorie deficit and made sure to include hunger crushing combos as often as I could. It was slow and took more time than I’d originally intended, but it’s been sustainable and helped me as I slowly transitioned back into maintenance calories. I’m certainly not as small as the skinnytok girls, but my body was never designed to thrive below a size 6. I love your content! Thank you for the work that you do 😊
As a mother of a young daughter and I myself growing up in the 90’s KEEP PREACHING!!! We need more of you. Which is balanced thoughts around food!, Thank you Thank you Thank you
Thanks for being a rock to go to when things get blurry and setting us straight! Boy do we need it! ❤