From IU to TWICE’s Momo, EXO’s Xiumin to BTS’s Jimin, male and female K-pop idols have drawn attention for their extreme diets. Terrifying idol beauty standards lurk under K-pop’s glamour and elegance. The singers active in the industry have their bodies under constant scrutiny, cropped and zoomed in by fans, media, and themselves. No wonder so many of them end up falling prey to diet culture, following extreme diets to maintain a certain figure.
Read more about how this affects the singers and fans in the long run, and why we think things should change.
Note: This article contains mentions of extreme diets, eating disorders, and dramatic short-term weight loss. Kindly seek a nutritionist before adopting any new meal plan.
K-pop Idol Viral Diets
If you’ve followed K-pop long enough, you have probably come across an idol’s crash diet. IU lost 4 kilograms in four days with hers. She ate an apple for breakfast and followed it with two sweet potatoes for lunch. A protein shake rounded out her meals for the day. BIG BANG’s Top gave the internet another viral ‘red bean jelly’ diet, wherein he ate nothing but unsweetened red bean jelly and water.
There are other, more terrifying diets. Momo survived on ice cubes to lose weight before TWICE’s debut, while Gugudan‘s Mina would drink two bottles of sparkling water a day at one point. Neither is sustainable in the long run, of course. Thankfully, both idols are no longer following extreme meal plans and have spoken out against fans trying them out, too!
What Is The Problem With Idol Crash Diets?
The fault is in the name. Crash diets cannot last. These meal plans are short-term, dangerous, and have long-term health impacts. Usually, singers follow K-pop diets when they debut or have a comeback. Even then, most agree that the temporary effects, i.e. weight loss and a skinny frame, aren’t worth the sacrifice. Momo remarked that she gained back almost all of the seven kilos she’d shed the week after her diet.
Recently, Billlie’s Moon Sua admitted that she had eaten nothing but ice for a week during her trainee days to maintain a certain weight, and lose some for upcoming evaluations. BTS’ Jimin is said to have skipped meals during the group’s ‘Wings’ era to look chiselled.
While most idols agree that their extreme diets are a thing of the past, young fans remain susceptible to information online. K-pop, with its peppy beats and catchy lyrics, has a young fanbase. Their favourite celebrity lost baby fat by fad dieting, so why shouldn’t they try the same to meet beauty standards? Truth be told, no matter how much the Korean celebrities backtrack on their shocking meal plans, a lot of damage has already been done.
Also Read: Former Kpop Idol Lizzy Reveals Mental Health Struggles, Tears Up During Live!
There isn’t any particular person to blame for the obsession with weight loss, and by extension, scarcity diets. Pop culture has long glorified the ‘thin is beautiful’ mantra and committed it to memory. Society teaches women, in particular, to measure their worth by the number on the scale.
It takes a lot to rise above impossible beauty standards and see oneself as worthy beyond what we weigh. Things are changing, but the change is slow. We hope that these K-pop crash diets are permanently retired so no idol or impressionable fan decides to try one out.
Also Read: 6 Unrealistic Beauty Standards To Keep Women Grounded And Uphold Patriarchy!