It was the '90s. Beauty standards were set by supermodels, and society's obsession with being thin birthed the hip-hugging low-rise jeans of Y2K. But often hiding behind the fashion glitz and glam were bottles of fen-phen, Redux and other diet pills that fueled the "heroin chic" aesthetic of the era.
The '90s aesthetic was eclipsed by the celebration of a different kind of celebrity − women like Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian and JLo were idealized for their curves. Eventually, entire movements and terms emerged, like body positivity and body neutrality.
But lately, there's concern about a "larger cultural swing towards the thin ideal yet again," says Sam DeCaro, director of clinical outreach and education at The Renfrew Center, which specializes in eating disorder treatment.
For those who need them, GLP-1s can be a life-changing tool and lead to significant health benefits. But now with FDA-approved weight loss pills on the market, some mental health and eating disorder experts are concerned that the prevalence of these medications are a return to a time where diet culture is everywhere, and they worry people with a history of disordered eating may seek out GLP-1s in pill form as they become a cultural norm.
