Suffolk woman warns ‘heroine chic’ is returning as disordered eating is rebranded as “health”
It follows our exclusive investigation into the topic
Last updated 25th Feb 2026
A Suffolk woman who has lived with an eating disorder has warned that extreme thinness is re-emerging online, not openly, but disguised as “wellness”, “health” and “clean living”.
Ellie Mullis, 26, says she is increasingly concerned by social media trends that promote restriction, weight loss and shrinking bodies while presenting them as positive lifestyle choices.
She believes this shift risks drawing people, including those who have never previously struggled, into harmful patterns of thinking around food and body image.
“There’s this idea now that it’s no longer about being skinny, it’s about being healthy,” she said. “But a lot of the time, it’s just the same thing with a different language.”
“We’re not making progress, we’re changing the words”
Mullis, who has been in recovery for several years, said she has noticed a sharp rise in content that mirrors eating disorder behaviours while avoiding explicit labels.
She pointed to trends often described as “SkinnyTok” or “Thinspo”, which she said had returned in a subtler form.
“It’s no longer ‘don’t eat’ or ‘be thin’,” she said. “Now it’s green juice every morning, extreme exercise, constant food rules, and it’s framed as discipline, self-improvement, or wellness.”
She warned that this shift can make harmful behaviours harder to recognise, both for individuals and those around them.
“I don’t think we’re actually making progress,” she said. “I think we’re just changing the words we use.”
“Health has become synonymous with skinny”
Mullis said she believes society is moving back towards valuing extreme thinness, particularly as economic pressures increase.
She described a growing link between thinness, control and social status, especially when access to “healthy” lifestyles often requires money.
“If you can afford organic food, private fitness classes, or weight loss injections, that becomes the new ideal,” she said. “Thinness starts to signal wealth and success.”
She said this mirrors past periods where body ideals reflected wider social and political conditions.
“In times of instability, control becomes important, and historically, that’s when thinner bodies are idealised,” she said.
Fear of a return to “heroin chic”
Mullis said she fears this could lead to a resurgence of “heroin chic”, a 1990s aesthetic associated with extreme thinness, particularly among young people.
Mullis stressed that she supports genuine health and well-being, but said the concept has become distorted online.
She said many people now feel judged or inadequate under the guise of “healthy living”.
“It used to be ‘you need to be thinner’. Now it’s ‘you need to be healthier’,” she said. “But what that really means is the same thing, you’re failing to measure up.”
She added that health is not something people have full control over, particularly those living with chronic illness or taking medication.
“There’s only so much of your health you can control,” she said. “That gets completely ignored.”
Weight loss injections a “dangerous shortcut”
Mullis was particularly critical of the growing normalisation of weight loss injections, saying she believes they could act as a trigger for disordered eating.
She said appetite suppression, especially when paired with praise or rapid weight loss, can reinforce harmful thought patterns.
“All it takes is for that switch to be flipped,” she said. “Someone might never have had those thoughts before, but suddenly restriction feels good; it feels rewarded.”
She added that the speed and secrecy surrounding weight loss injections was especially concerning.
“If something gives you instant results, and nobody talks honestly about how they achieved them, that’s incredibly dangerous,” she said.
Mullis said she had chosen to unfollow or mute content related to weight loss injections to protect her recovery.
“I have to be non-negotiable about it,” she said. “I can’t open that door.”
Warning of rising eating disorders
Mullis believes the current cultural climate could lead to an increase in eating disorders — even among people who would not previously have identified with them.
She said many disordered behaviours are already widespread and socially accepted.
“I don’t think the majority of people are ‘fine’ when it comes to food and body image,” she said. “It’s just normalised.”
She warned that future eating disorders may not look the same as past stereotypes — making them harder to identify and treat.
“It won’t always look like what people expect,” she said. “It’ll just look like ‘being healthy’.”
Social media response
We contacted OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta, asking for a right of reply about how their platforms handle content linked to body image and eating disorders.
None of them responded by the time of publication, except TikTok.
According to a TikTok spokesperson:
“We do not allow showing or promoting disordered eating and dangerous weight loss behaviours…and we work with health experts and charities to develop their safety and wellbeing guides.”
The Government says its Online Safety Act works to protect children from harmful online content - it's also considering other measures like banning under-16s from social media.
You can hear more from Ellie and other experts on this in our documentary here.