"Jang Wonyoung Unnie is My Wannabe" Deadly Diet 'Pro-Ana' [News Terms]

Extreme Thin Body SNS Encourages
Rapid Increase in Eating Disorders Among Teenage Girls
Risk of Chronic Condition if Early Treatment Is Missed

Video platform TikTok reportedly suspended the account of Liv Schmidt (22), a female creator and influencer famous for the ‘bbyemalla diet,’ at the end of last month, according to foreign media reports. The bbyemalla diet refers to the practice of pursuing an extremely thin body to the point where bones are visible and managing diet in an extreme manner. Schmidt was removed because she created content that could promote eating disorders. Before the account was closed, she had as many as 670,000 followers on TikTok.

This incident has brought renewed attention to the abnormal obsession with weight among teenage girls, known as ‘bbyemalla’ or ‘pro-ana.’ Pro-ana is a term combining the English words ‘Pro’ and ‘Anorexia.’ It refers to people who pursue a thin body while refusing treatment for anorexia.

Girl group IVE member Jang Wonyoung [Photo source=Online Community]

On social networking services (SNS) including TikTok, it is easy to find posts praising the slimness of idols like Jang Wonyoung from the girl group IVE, expressing a desire to be thin like her. Various online communities often feature posts where users share their height and weight and ask others to judge whether they are fat or not. Everyone at least once dreams of becoming beautiful like celebrities and tries to imitate them. However, at some point, the standard of beauty began to shift to ‘thinness.’

SNS is considered the main culprit behind the obsessive praise of thin bodies. It is said that owners of paper-thin bodies appearing on YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and other platforms influence beauty standards. Experts cite social pressure emphasizing slimness, strong obsession with body shape, depression, and stress as psychological causes of eating disorders.

A post asking how to become as slim as singer Jang Wonyoung and photos of Jang Wonyoung shared online

Earlier this year, the ‘Leggings Leg Challenge’ went viral on SNS. The Leggings Leg Challenge involved proving the gap between both thighs while wearing leggings. Content flaunting thin bodies like this is overflowing on social media. The National Eating Disorders Association in the U.S. stated, “The harm caused by social media algorithms cannot be ignored,” and warned that “extremely harmful content to health can be provided.”

The praise of thin bodies has especially led to an explosive increase in eating disorder patients among teenage girls. Eating disorders are mental health conditions that disrupt eating habits. According to the treatment status of eating disorders disclosed by the National Health Insurance Service, the number of female anorexia patients aged 10 and under increased dramatically from 275 in 2018 to 1,874 in 2022, a 6.8-fold increase over five years, the largest growth rate. Other eating disorders also surged about 6.4 times from 211 in 2018 to 1,367 in 2022 among those aged 10 and under. Bodies pushed to extremes are fatal to growing adolescents.

TikToker video about pro-ana and leggings legs
[Photo source=TikTok, Akyung DB]

The diagnostic criterion for anorexia is a body mass index (BMI) of 17. For a height of 160cm, this means a weight of about 43.5kg for women. Severe cases fall between 15 and 16 (38.5?41kg). Critical cases are below 15, which corresponds to a weight under 38.5kg for a woman 160cm tall. Hospitalization should be considered from the severe stage onward. If the early treatment window for eating disorders is missed, the condition can become chronic and difficult to treat.