A new weight loss trend has caused wellness experts to speak out about the risks and low probability of achieving such a goal. Specialists are saying that women are putting their wellbeing at risk by attempting to become so slender that their thighs don’t touch even when their feet are together. Not only is trying to achieve a so-called thigh gap dangerous, specialists say it is virtually impossible. However, this doesn’t stop Tumblr pages, blogs and other social media sites flaunting photos of exceptionally thin models who have the gap, which is upheld as a beauty achievement.
According to Claire Mysko, who oversees teen outreach and digital media for advocacy group the National Eating Disorders Association, ‘The issue of focusing on a particular body part is very common. What is new is these things have taken on a life of their own because of the Internet and social media.’ This saturation of super-thin women in the media has warped our sense of what’s normal. In actual fact, the vast majority of people’s thighs touch when they stand with their feet together, whereas those whose thighs are so slim they don’t touch makes up a tiny percentage of the population.
It’s easy to blame social media for the recent rise in eating disorders, but research has actually found that peer pressure from social sites plays a significant role in girls’ warped sense of body image. In 2011, a study from researchers at the University of Haifa showed that teenage girls who spent the most time using Facebook were more likely to develop a negative body image and an eating disorder. Nancy Albus, chief executive officer of Castlewood Treatment Center, a suburban St. Louis facility that focuses on eating disorders, points out, ‘The intrusion and presence of social media in our lives really does make it very difficult. The important distinction about thigh gap is it gives you an actual visual to achieve, this visual comparison of how your body does or doesn’t stack up.’
Dr. Vonda Wright, a Pittsburgh-based orthopedic surgeon and fitness expert, notes that the spacing between your legs mostly comes down to your genes, and you may not be able to achieve a thigh gap even if you’re extraordinarily thin. In order to have a thigh gap, you need a specific body type; both skinny and wide-hipped. That said, Wright is quick to assert that a the elusive thigh gap isn’t a goal worth chasing. If you’re fit and healthy, you won’t have a thigh gap because your thighs will be muscular enough that they touch. Wright, who works with Division I athletes, explains, ‘Skinny does not mean fit or muscular. I cannot think of one athlete I deal with’ who has a thigh gap.
While experts do admit that they cannot know whether or not the pursuit of a thigh gap has caused any deaths, nor is it known how many eating disorders are blamed on the phenomenon, that is not to say that the link is not there. Mysko comments that, if you ask most experts, they will tell you that ‘exposure to online images of extreme beauty standards and the drive to compare does increase the risk of developing eating disorders.’ Therapist, Kim Callaway says she often encourages clients to avoid social media and even delete their Facebook pages. ‘It’s not uncommon for people to be on Facebook talking about what they ate today, posting pictures of their meals or writing about how they’re 10 pounds lighter than they were a month ago,’ Callaway notes. ‘The ability to be instantly connected to everybody and see what they look like and see them blog or talk about what they are eating and what they do for exercise – this makes it a lot more difficult for those with eating disorders.’
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