Weighing in real life Squid Game...Extreme diet, risk of physical and psychiatric disorders
Jun 26, 2025
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Squid Game is a fictional story, but in reality, this poor survival game is being played. They are dieters who lose weight by life and death.
◇ Extreme diet, possibility of falling into eating disorders
Lately, dieting has been increasingly stimulating, centering on Gen.G. generation (10s and 20s). For example, on social media (SNS), 'How many 0 expressions are possible per day?''10kg minus a week challenge' is representative. 'Short-term Diet' is the key, and it is as strict as a squid game rule to survive, and failure creates anxiety that it will be eliminated.
However, experts point out that this type of diet trend may adversely affect adolescents.
Son Bo-ri, president of the 365mc Yeongdeungpo branch, warned that `Dieting tends to become more extreme on social media to attract more attention,' and `This could encourage adolescents to prefer a body that is thin enough to reveal bones.'
He warned that if the act of refusing to eat or chewing and spitting food continues due to extreme diets, it could lead to disease.
Director Son explained "Neurotic anorexia, which severely restricts or rejects food for a skinny body, is not a matter to be taken lightly" and "If not treated, the mortality rate is known to reach 5 to 18%."
In particular, if the underweight phenomenon continues in adolescence, growth will also be problematic. It can be followed by brain development inhibition, susceptibility to infectious diseases, and osteoporosis. There is also a concern that female students may suffer from menstrual irregularities and infertility.
◇"Still fat even though I'm on a diet"…the risk of mental illness
Extreme diet also induces △anxiety △ depression △ coercion behavior. The Mayo Clinic in the United States has also warned that repeated fasting and eating restrictions can affect brain function, causing mood changes, insomnia, and impulse control disorders.
Representatively, there is a 'body dysmorphic disorder' in which you still feel fat even if you lose weight. The condition is a type of mental disorder that is believed to have serious flaws, even though there are no specific abnormalities in the actual appearance.
Director Son explained, "Physical dysplasia is a mental health condition in which you cannot stop thinking about minor or physical defects that others cannot see." and added, "Anxiety about adolescent appearance may become too great to lead to a situation in which social relationships in adulthood are not properly established in the future."
◇Diet is not a game but a life...Healthy lifestyles first
Dieting is never a game, director Son says. "Too short-term weight loss is rather a matter of fact."He advised that it could lead to phenomenon or mental exhaustion.
In particular, he stressed that it is important not to be misled by the short-term diet effects spread through SNS. He added that maintaining a steady routine and maintaining a psychological balance are key to a healthy diet.
He added that "diet should be a "life" rather than a "game" that achieves a desired goal in a short period of time."It is important to remember that adolescent diets aim to create healthy lifestyles, not appearance management."," he stressed.
In response to tips for using adolescent diets, Director Son recommended △ not reducing the amount of meals and not eating snacks △ eating natural food rather than processed food △ exercising for about 30 minutes a day (jumping, swimming, walking) △ sleeping 7-9 hours a day △ drinking more than 1.5 liters of water a day.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
