What’s Wrong With ‘Girl Dinner’?

Welcome to Culture Clinic, MedPage Today‘s collaboration with Northwell Health to offer a healthcare professional’s take on the latest viral medical topics.

A trend featuring mostly women sharing dinners made of assorted snack foods has become an online sensation, and experts say it exemplifies the positive and negative potential for health messaging on social media.

Known as “girl dinner,” the trend started in May when one TikTok user posted a video explaining that her dinner was made up of bread, cheese, grapes, and pickles. The post received over 200,000 likes and spawned a series of copycat and satirical TikTok posts.

Now, the trend has taken hold in the real world, with morning talk show hosts discussing the topic and even one fast-food restaurant creating a “girl dinner” menu item.

However, some experts are concerned that these posts may promote unhealthy lifestyle and dietary choices. Notably, one of the most popular TikTok posts with the “girl dinner” hashtag features a woman skipping dinner and taking a nap.

“The internet and social media have provided many benefits in terms of dissemination of information and connecting people for a variety of reasons,” Victor Fornari, MD, MS, of Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, New York, told MedPage Today. “However, we do know that the internet and social media both have dark sides.”

“So, although this kind of social media conversation can be practical, can be humorous, it can also, for the vulnerable individual, be an opportunity to engage in really unhealthy and maladaptive behaviors, such as those leading to eating disorders,” he said.

‘Girl Dinner’ and Mental Health

These posts would likely not have a negative effect on healthy people, but those who are more vulnerable to messages about body image issues might be influenced, Fornari noted.

“Adolescent girls are more vulnerable to this because they’re often feeling a sense of inadequacy and striving for perfection, which of course doesn’t exist,” he said. “So that’s a population that I think is more at risk.”

Ideally, the trend would be viewed as a positive discussion around healthy nutrition, balanced diet, and creativity with meal planning, he noted. He said it’s fine to prioritize simple recipes that are easy to make, but people should not be eating “girl dinner” because they are worried about being overweight.

He also noted that healthcare providers can use these kinds of social media posts as a way to speak with patients about their overall diet and health.

“It’s not unreasonable today for primary care doctors to say, tell me what your habits are in terms of your use of social media,” Fornari said. “I think that physicians need to be aware of the trends.”

He advised that providers should try to understand their patient’s social media habits — what sites they visit, whether they have experienced cyberbullying — to help determine whether a patient might benefit from additional mental health care.

“Younger kids can be more vulnerable to some of the dark sides of social media,” he said.

Not Every ‘Girl Dinner’ Created Equally

The concern around “girl dinner” also extends to potential negativity around gender stereotypes, according to Natalie Ricondo, RD, a clinical dietitian at North Shore University Hospital in Manhassett, New York.

“I’m more worried about is the actual title of it: ‘girl dinner,'” Ricondo told MedPage Today. “I think sometimes the word ‘girl’ can feed into these stereotypes where girls or women are expected to have smaller portions, eat less calorically dense foods, and that can sometimes exacerbate these stereotypes.”

Social media trends reinforcing stereotypes can be especially harmful for adolescent girls, adding that the “girl dinner” can be seen as promoting eating lighter meals at the expense of good nutrition, Ricondo pointed out. However, not every “girl dinner” is created equally, she noted.

“I don’t see this trend as something that’s overtly problematic,” Ricondo said. “There’s something to be said about being real, about real life, and sometimes it’s okay not to have those perfect dinners at night, when you’re just exhausted from work, childcare, or just in too much of a time crunch.

As long as people are keeping their pantry and refrigerator stocked with healthy food options, then “girl dinner” can be a fun, healthy alternative to cooking a full meal, Ricondo said. The best foods to keep on hand for a proper “girl dinner” would be whole-grain foods like bread or crackers, hummus, peanut butter, and easy-to-grab fruits and vegetables, she noted.

“‘Girl dinner,’ even though the term may be new, it’s not something that is new,” she added. “It occurs in other cultures as well, like mezze platters and Spanish tapas. People around the world have been eating like this.”

“Girl dinner” can be a nutritious meal that doesn’t require cooking or excessive meal preparation, Ricondo said.

“I’d rather see people having something to eat than skipping dinner all together or putting together some odds and ends from their fridge versus going out to fast-food and getting a quick hamburger and french fries,” she noted. “Some of these ‘girl dinners’ can be well-balanced and healthy, so I think it’s not a terrible alternative.”

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