Dr. Darshan Shah, health specialist, warns against weight loss without muscle gain: “Most dangerous trend”
The ultra-thin look of the 1990s has made a comeback with several Hollywood actresses and models sporting the look causing health concerns.
You may have noticed in the past couple of years if you watched models on the catwalk or any of the award ceremonies that actresses and models are getting much thinner, and dangerously so. The body positivity trend of the 2010s is giving way to a rebirth of the ‘Heroin Chic’ look of the 1990s aided by the advent of GPL-1 drugs like Ozempic.
Actress and activist Jameela Jamil, who struggled with disordered eating in the past, called out the super skinny trend earlier this year in a post on Instagram. She described the women at the BAFTA awards as “scarily thin” and that it reminded her of what she saw as a child, “where everyone looks like they could snap. It’s a specifically fragile type of thin.”
She isn’t the only one that has noticed and is concerned. Stylists and medical professionals to Hollywood celebrities shared with Page Six that they feel the stars are blind to how thin they are and that there is “cause for alarm” due to “visible signs of muscle wasting in several celebrities where it wasn’t present before.” Dr. Darshan Shah, a surgeon and longevity physician, posted a video on social media saying that it is “one of the most dangerous trends” that he is seeing.
The dangers of the ultra-skinny trend
Dr. Shah points out that “becoming skinny without gaining muscle is actually a negative to your health.” He explains that losing muscle along with fat over time can result in “hair loss, weak bones, fatigue, and brain fog.”
He recommends that anyone who wants to lose weight should make sure to get enough protein in their diet, ideally between 140 to 160 grams a day. Additionally, you want to get adequate nutrition, either by taking a multivitamin or getting it from the food you eat. On top of that, at least four times a week you should be doing strength training.
In order to monitor your progress he suggests that you invest in a smart scale which can measure your skeletal muscle mass as well as your fat mass, “so you can see one go up while the other one goes down.”
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