Published by: CBS News
Written By: Sara Moniuszko
“Legging legs” is the latest body-focused term being used on social media — and some are calling the trend dangerous and harmful. The phrase, which is blocked from search on TikTok, caught on as a description of the “perfect” or “ideal” size and shape of legs for wearing leggings, promoting what experts say can be an unhealthy body image.
It appears to be a new spin on the internet-fueled “thigh gap” craze from around 2013, in which young women and teens pursued an elusive and possibly dangerous goal of being slender enough for their thighs not to touch when standing with their feet together.
Social media trends that draw attention to body shape and appearance can have both a negative effect on those already impacted by eating disorders and also put others at risk, says Elizabet Altunkara, director of education at the National Eating Disorders Association.
What are “legging legs”?
“The new trend ‘legging legs’ is problematic as it suggests that only certain body types are able to wear a piece of clothing — an idea that promotes the appearance ideal we have all been exposed to and whose internalization may put people at risk to develop an eating disorder,” Altunkara says.
Dr. Samantha DeCaro, director of clinical outreach and education at The Renfrew Center, a network of eating disorder treatment facilities, calls the trend “yet another inappropriate way to body shame individuals.”
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