The Newest Celebrity Trend of Extreme Thinness is Not Just Annoying, It's Dangerous. I Speak from Experience.

Recently, every public appearance by Ariana Grande has left me with a complicated mix of fear and frustration. Not because of who she is she is clearly talented, kind, and allowed to exist in whatever body she chooses. The discomfort comes from what she, along with others, now represents in popular culture.

Extreme thinness has returned to the spotlight, wrapped up as something desirable, stylish and aspirational. Grande and Cynthia Erivo have been everywhere while promoting the film Wicked from interviews and photo shoots to red carpet appearances. Their extremely slender figures, along with those of other celebrities, are carefully highlighted and celebrated across media platforms, reinforcing a very specific and narrow body ideal.

Although there has been some criticism, it barely makes a dent in the huge promotional machine that glorifies this look and presents it as something to admire and aim for.

This is happening at the exact same time that weight-loss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy have become incredibly common. With even more accessible pill forms on the horizon, these drugs are being used not just for medical reasons such as diabetes, but by people who dont qualify at all. Instead, theyre being used to chase the kind of extremely narrow physique that now dominates magazine covers, social media feeds and celebrity culture.

This trend is especially painful for those of us who spent years trying to undo damaging beliefs about our bodies. We were taught that thinness was everything. That control meant eating less. That smaller was better. Many of us fought hard for a world where different body types could be visible, respected, and celebrated. Just when that shift finally began to take hold, a new wave of medically enhanced thinness arrived, disguised as health and self-care.

This isnt about blaming famous people or shaming bodies. Its about the quiet but powerful message being delivered to society: that thinner is always healthier, always more valuable, always more desirable. And that message is dangerous.

When I was growing up, my own mother would tell me, If you lost some weight, youd be beautiful. In her eyes, thinness equaled worth, power and opportunity. As a 14-year-old desperate to be accepted, I internalized those words deeply.

One day at school, a popular girl casually asked how much I weighed. When I answered, she looked shocked and said shed rather die than weigh that much. Standing under the harsh fluorescent lights of the hallway, I felt the shame burn into me. In that moment, her words confirmed everything I had been taught: that being thin was the most important thing I could be.

My mother tried every method she could think of to make me lose weight pressure, guilt, bargains, threats. But she wasnt alone in spreading that message. The 1980s were filled with fat-free fads, diet shakes and workout tapes. Mental health wasnt a conversation. Eating disorders werent openly discussed. I didnt realize that what was happening to me had a name.

By the time I was 15, I had started making myself vomit in secret. Standing alone in the bathroom with the door locked, I crossed a line I would spend decades trapped behind. What followed was more than 30 years of binging and purging, shame and self-hatred, anxiety and isolation a silent life built around food, control and secrecy.

This modern revival of extreme thinness is not limited to red carpets. Its everywhere: on TikTok, in schools, in private conversations between friends. It defines what young people believe is healthy, beautiful and acceptable. And as a result, eating disorders are rising, particularly among young girls. Treatment centers are seeing more and more patients every year.

I dont know what any celebrity is going through personally, and I dont pretend to understand their private struggles. But this isnt really about individual choices. Its about a global system that makes money off insecurity a beauty industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars, and a weight-loss market that grows stronger the more we hate our bodies.

What truly angers me is the cultural direction were heading in. It is pushing people especially children and teenagers toward dangerous behaviors, mental health issues and a lifetime of shame.

By the time I reached my 40s, I had finally started to find peace with my body. Like many others, I began to believe that worth is not measured by a number on a scale. I started to trust that health and beauty appear in countless forms.

Now, seeing this cycle repeat itself is heartbreaking. So many of us already survived the obsession with thinness, the emotional damage, the disordered eating, the constant self-criticism. We fought too hard to go backward again.

We deserve a culture that no longer treats weight loss as a moral achievement. And the next generation deserves a world where they do not feel forced to harm themselves in order to be seen as beautiful, valuable or worthy of love.

If you are struggling with an eating disorder or unhealthy thoughts about your body, please reach out for professional support and speak with someone you trust. You are not alone, and your life matters far more than your size.

Author: Olivia Parker