{
  "id": 355094,
  "title": "‘They think they’re being healthy’: When wellness turns into obsession",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/they-think-theyre-being-healthy-when-wellness-turns-into-obsession",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-08T02:37:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Ynetnews Culture",
    "slug": "ynetnews-culture",
    "url": "https://www.ynetnews.com/culture/lifestyle/article/r18rfmvuzl"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The debate over body image has resurfaced, highlighting the dangerous trend of wellness obsession. Israeli model Eden Fines sparked the conversation by sharing vacation photos on social media, criticizing the glorification of thinness. Actress Liat Bello echoed these sentiments, urging people to focus on health instead.\n\nHowever, the wellness trend has become a dominant force in recent years, with young people fixated on their protein intake, step counts, and dietary choices. This can lead to adopting risky diets, using supplements without medical supervision, and adopting extreme fitness routines. Dr. Ofri Yalin, a clinical dietitian, notes that the current focus on \"health\" is merely a shift from the previous \"thinness\" trend, which emphasized extreme calorie restriction and excessive cardio exercise.\n\nWhat sets today's wellness culture apart is the same underlying rigidity and control. Instead of calorie counting, the obsession revolves around protein, steps, and other measurements. This can manifest as a \"protein cult,\" where people add protein to everything they consume. Obsessive body optimization, rigid step targets, and continuous monitoring of heart rate or glucose levels can also become problematic.\n\nExercise can transform from a beneficial activity into a source of punishment or obligation, leading to intense strength training and significant anxiety over missed workouts. In some cases, this can progress to orthorexia, an unhealthy fixation on \"clean\" food and avoidance of processed items, causing anxiety during social eating situations.\n\nThe psychological toll of this obsessive wellness behavior can be severe, causing severe anxiety around family meals, harsh self-judgment, disconnection from internal hunger cues, and fear of weight gain. However, the key difference with the current trend is that the anxiety is disguised as concerns over muscle loss.\n\nDr. Michal Ben Meir, a clinical psychologist specializing in eating disorders, highlights that the appeal of wellness culture lies in its promise of control, belonging, recognition, and self-worth. It provides a sense of order in an unstable world, allowing people to focus on numbers rather than emotions. Social media amplifies this effect, with TikTok videos presenting perfect, meticulously curated meals and bodies that create impossible standards for viewers. Even fitness and wellness influencers, lacking professional credentials, can spread dangerous advice about health and nutrition.\n\nThe impact of this trend is particularly concerning among adolescents, whose developing brains are highly influenced by repetition and social norms. As Ben Meir explains, the constant exposure to the message of wellness can feel like truth rather than opinion, making it difficult for young people to recognize when their behavior has become unhealthy.",
  "summary": "Extreme dieting has given way to protein targets, step counts and body tracking, but experts warn the pursuit of the ‘perfect’ healthy body can become compulsive, fuel anxiety and even mask disordered eating",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}