A TikTok influencer, Liv Schmidt, with nearly 700,000 followers, has responded after being banned from the platform for promoting what experts and dietitians have called “dangerous” and “harmful” weight loss advice.
Critics accused the 22-year-old of glamorising disordered eating by stressing the importance of staying skinny, which led to TikTok shutting down her account for violating community guidelines related to disordered eating.
Based in New York, Schmidt defended her content in an interview with *The Wall Street Journal*, claiming, “For me and my personal aesthetic, I like to be skinny, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
She also pointed out that weight loss is a popular topic among her viewers, and her goal is to help combat obesity, a sentiment reflected in her now-deleted bio, which said she wanted to “save America from obesity one person at a time.”
Her critics, however, argue that her “What I Eat in a Day” videos and affiliated products—ranging from dietary supplements to a paid subscription-based “Skinny Group Community Chat”—are dangerous, particularly for young, impressionable audiences. Some Reddit users expressed concern over the harmful impact of her content, with one stating, “Young girls have and will continue to die due to sh*t like this being peddled on the internet.”
Health experts emphasize the importance of a balanced diet, as recommended by the Australian Dietary Guidelines. These guidelines advocate for a wide variety of nutritious foods, including vegetables, fruits, grains, lean meats, and dairy, alongside drinking plenty of water for optimal health.
