Thinspo: What It Is and How It Impacts Body Image

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsUnderstanding Thinspo CultureWhat Is Pro-Ana and Pro-Mia?Is Thinspo the Same Thing as ‘Heroin Chic?‘Thinspo and Eating DisordersThinspo and Body ImageHow to Develop a Healthy Body Image

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Understanding Thinspo Culture

What Is Pro-Ana and Pro-Mia?

Is Thinspo the Same Thing as ‘Heroin Chic?’

Thinspo and Eating Disorders

Thinspo and Body Image

How to Develop a Healthy Body Image

The term “thinspo” is short for “thinspiration” and refers to content that promotes thinness and encourages disordered eating and exercise patterns to become thin. The trend began on social media and has reached a large following.

Elizabet Altunkara, LMSWThis content is extremely harmful as it encourages eating disorder behaviors and increases body dissatisfaction.

Elizabet Altunkara, LMSW

This content is extremely harmful as it encourages eating disorder behaviors and increases body dissatisfaction.

Thinspo promotes thinness and is intended to be inspirational in order to achieve an unhealthy body goal.

Images on social media promoting thinspo include protruding backbones, shoulder blades, and emancipated-looking faces, along with messages promoting unhealthy habits like “Pretty girls don’t eat” and “Skip dinner, be thinner.” Some hashtags tied to the content include #thinspiration #thinspo #skinny and #thin.

“This content is extremely harmful as it encourages eating disorder behaviors and increases body dissatisfaction,” saidElizabet Altunkara, LMSW, director of education at the National Eating Disorders Association.

Pro-ana refers to websites and content that put anorexia in a positive light despite it being aneating disorder.

People withanorexiatend to avoid food or severely restrict what they eat or they may diet or exercise too much due to fear of weight gain, no matter how underweight they are.This is because anorexia and other eating disorders are mental health conditions in which an individual often has a distorted perception of their body weight.

Pro-mia refers to websites and content that promote bulimia.Bulimiais an eating disorder involving a person binging or overeating food regularly and then vomiting or using laxatives to rid themselves of the food to prevent weight gain.

While pro-ana and pro-mia overtly praise anorexia and bulimia as lifestyles,Cynthia M. Bulik,PhD, founding director of the University of North Carolina Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders, said thinspo more subtly encourages the same behaviors.

Thinspo Can Be Triggering to Those With Eating Disorders

“[Thinspo] can be highlytriggeringfor people with current eating disorders, with past eating disorders, and those vulnerable to developing eating disorders," Bulik said.

Bulik also notes that it can wreak havoc on people’sself-esteemas thinspo sets impossible standards.

Heroin chicrefers to a style and look that became popular in the 1990s due to the ways models looked in advertisements and commercials. Think Calvin Klein ads. The look of the models resembled how those who useheroinor other heavy drugs might look—extremely thin, with dark circles under the eyes, and unkept hair.

Thinspo can drive eating disorders since it may lead to an obsession with thinness, which may trigger disordered eating and exercise patterns, said Altunkara.

In a 2023 study, researchers examined whether exposure to content that promotes thinspo and fitspiration (extreme exercise to reach idealbody image) predicted women’s body dissatisfaction (BD), happiness, anddisordered eating(DE) such as binge eating/purging, restrictive eating, and exercise.

The researchers found that thinspo was related to BD and DE urges.

“Given that it is such an internet phenomenon and it is difficult to actually label a website as thinso/fitspo, there has not been a lot of systematic research on eating disorders per se,” said Bulik.

Body dissatisfaction is a risk factor in developing an eating disorder, explained Altunkara.

“Individuals who are exposed to [thinspo] content may experience body dissatisfaction, a distorted perception of their own appearance, and feelings of shame, anxiety, and self-consciousness,” she said.

“Thinspo puts ‘becoming thinner’ as the motivation for exercise, dieting, and other even less healthy approaches to achieving a ‘thin ideal,’” said Bulik.

She pointed out that thinspo impacts body image in the following ways:

How to Practice Body Neutrality

The following can help nourish a healthy body image.

Examine your views on food and body perception

Looking at your beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors around food, physical appearance, and body image and identifying behaviors that could contribute to a negative body image is a start, said Altunkara.

For instance, you could write down your thoughts on each and try to understand where those came from and how they affect the way you feel about your body.

Appreciate What Your Body Allows You to Do

Rather than focusing on what is “wrong” with your body, try feelinggratefulfor what it allows you to experience in the world.

One way to do this is throughmindfulnesstechniques that encourage you to become more attuned to your body, such as square breathing or wave breathing, which can help you get in touch with the power of breath in helping your body to feel alive and calm.

Bulik suggests doing a body inventory and focusing on all of the ways your body helps you move through the world. For instance, think of how your lungs help you breathe or how your nose lets you smell the scent of beautiful flowers.

Avoid the Comparison Trap

When exposed to social media content and images that promote a certain ideal appearance, try to gain perspective of what the content is pushing. By doing this, you can avoid comparing your body to those images and messages.

Also, take note of accounts you follow on social media that push unhealthy habits or make you feel bad about yourself and unfollow them.

Remind yourself that many images on social media have filters on them and are usually someone’s highlight reel. Always be mindful of the content your are consuming and take note of how it makes you feel.

Create a List of Things You Like About Yourself

Write down between five and ten things you like about yourself that have nothing to do with your physical appearance, such as being a good friend, performing well at work, volunteering for your favorite organization, and so on.

Keep adding to the list as you think of more and read it often, especially when you find yourself critiquing your physical appearance.

Spend Time With People Who Build You Up

If you’re constantly around people who put a lot of value and conversation around physical appearances and body size or who feed into the thinspo culture, it can be hard not to think about those things all the time.

Try to find people who support you for who and what you are now. Their positivity can make it easier to feel good about yourself.

Body Positivity vs. Body Neutrality

5 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.SAMHSA.Eating Disorders.Martin G, Portingale J, Fuller-Tyszkiewicz M, Krug I.Do appearance comparisons mediate the effects of thinspiration and fitspiration on body dissatisfaction, happiness, and disordered eating urges in women’s daily lives?.Body Image. 2023;46:108-116.Rodgers RF, Rousseau A.Social media and body image: Modulating effects of social identities and user characteristics.Body Image. 2022;41:284-291.National Eating Disorders Association.10 Steps to Positive Body Image.National Eating Disorders Association. 10 Steps to Positive Body Image.https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/general-information/ten-steps

5 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.SAMHSA.Eating Disorders.Martin G, Portingale J, Fuller-Tyszkiewicz M, Krug I.Do appearance comparisons mediate the effects of thinspiration and fitspiration on body dissatisfaction, happiness, and disordered eating urges in women’s daily lives?.Body Image. 2023;46:108-116.Rodgers RF, Rousseau A.Social media and body image: Modulating effects of social identities and user characteristics.Body Image. 2022;41:284-291.National Eating Disorders Association.10 Steps to Positive Body Image.National Eating Disorders Association. 10 Steps to Positive Body Image.https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/general-information/ten-steps

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

SAMHSA.Eating Disorders.Martin G, Portingale J, Fuller-Tyszkiewicz M, Krug I.Do appearance comparisons mediate the effects of thinspiration and fitspiration on body dissatisfaction, happiness, and disordered eating urges in women’s daily lives?.Body Image. 2023;46:108-116.Rodgers RF, Rousseau A.Social media and body image: Modulating effects of social identities and user characteristics.Body Image. 2022;41:284-291.National Eating Disorders Association.10 Steps to Positive Body Image.National Eating Disorders Association. 10 Steps to Positive Body Image.https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/general-information/ten-steps

SAMHSA.Eating Disorders.

Martin G, Portingale J, Fuller-Tyszkiewicz M, Krug I.Do appearance comparisons mediate the effects of thinspiration and fitspiration on body dissatisfaction, happiness, and disordered eating urges in women’s daily lives?.Body Image. 2023;46:108-116.

Rodgers RF, Rousseau A.Social media and body image: Modulating effects of social identities and user characteristics.Body Image. 2022;41:284-291.

National Eating Disorders Association.10 Steps to Positive Body Image.

National Eating Disorders Association. 10 Steps to Positive Body Image.https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/general-information/ten-steps

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