By Maya Bourne
According to a study, 170 million U.S. citizens currently use TikTok as of January 2024. Of those 170 million, 55% are female, and one can assume they open TikTok at least weekly. These women spend their time scrolling through endless videos of funny compilations, mukbangs, and the lives of other women worldwide. These small windows into influencers’ lives include “Outfit of the Day,” “A Day in the Life,” and, maybe most harmful, “What I Eat in a Day.” One such example of these influencers is self-proclaimed health guru, Liv Schmidt.
Liv Schmidt’s platform on TikTok is centered around women, mainly those who wish to lose weight or lead a healthier lifestyle. However, the format and content of her videos leave much to be desired. The vast majority of her videos include workout plans, diet information, and her daily life. One of the series she includes is her “What I Eat in a Day” videos, which have garnered a lot of public attention. In these videos, Schmidt narrates and shows her daily meals, and her hacks to stay “skinny,” and “toned.” Many influencers create videos showing their daily meals and talk about their fitness goals, but very few to the extent that Liv Schmidt reaches.
The format of Liv Schmidt’s “What I Eat in a Day” videos is very strategic. Every single one starts with what one calls a “body shot,” in which the influencer poses in front of the camera to show their physique. Though seemingly harmless, these body shots convey the idea that if one eats like this influencer, they will look just like that. Of course, this is not true, as all bodies process and digest food differently, but younger or more gullible people may start to believe this ideology. Those who believe it may begin following the diets and guidelines set by Schmidt, which are not sustainable long-term. She explains in her videos how she is in a caloric deficit, which is essentially where one eats fewer calories than they burn, leading to weight loss. Calorie deficits are effective, but only when used correctly. Increased deficits can lead to fatigue, malnutrition, and other long-term health problems that accompany a lack of necessary nutrients in the body. Many young girls have started adopting these unhealthy eating habits, which has led to an influx of eating disorders. An article by OHSU shows how between 2000 and 2018, the presence of eating disorders in the world population increased from 3.4% to 7.8%. Many of the causes of eating disorders stem from social media and viewing the comparisons between people and the edited lives of influencers.
Schmidt also illustrates in her “What I Eat in a Day” videos the amount of food she eats from each meal. For example, she shows a quinoa salad, and in the top corner is text saying “ate 4 bites of this, then got full”, or something to that effect. These short blurbs may seem unimportant, however, their effects, especially on youth, have catastrophic consequences. Young people may watch the video, see that she only eats a few bites, and then feel bad about themselves for finishing their meal. These ideologies may send people into spirals, culminating in eating disorders and an otherwise distorted vision of food.
Overall, Liv Schmidt and other health influencers have created an unhealthy culture surrounding food and its necessity. It is impossible and incredibly unhealthy to attempt to survive off three bites of a watermelon and a stick of asparagus for dinner. Those who try to attain the same lifestyle end up landing in even more dangerous situations.