Psychiatrist Alexei Shafarenko of the European Medical Center has warned that a returning fashion trend toward extreme thinness poses serious health risks and can trigger severe eating disorders, speaking in an interview with news outlet Lenta.ru.
Shafarenko explained that while wanting to improve physical fitness is entirely natural, danger arises when self-care gradually transforms into an excessive control over weight and nutrition. He noted that the initial warning signs of this shift are easily mistaken for high self-discipline or a commitment to a healthy lifestyle.
Over time, preoccupations with food, body weight, and personal appearance can occupy an increasingly dominant place in a person's daily routine, directly influencing their self-esteem and everyday choices. Shafarenko cautioned that in certain cases, these behavioral changes represent early indicators of a developing eating disorder.
Signs of unhealthy weight control
In a healthy individual, dietary choices remain flexible and personal weight does not dictate overall self-worth, according to the psychiatrist. By contrast, a pathological pursuit of thinness causes a person's sense of value to become directly linked to their physical appearance.
Shafarenko identified several specific behavioral warning signs that emerge during this process, including an intense fear of specific food items, severe dietary restrictions, and feelings of guilt after eating. Individuals may also engage in constant comparisons between themselves and others, weigh themselves repeatedly throughout the day, and continue striving to lose weight even after reaching dangerously low body mass levels.
This psychological pattern creates a self-reinforcing vicious cycle, Shafarenko stated. As food intake drops, energy levels decline, which in turn intensifies a person's fixation on nutrition, body dissatisfaction, and strict self-imposed demands, resulting in even harsher dietary limits.
Physical and psychological consequences
Prolonged nutritional deficits force the human body to enter an energy-saving mode to preserve basic survival functions. Shafarenko warned that this physiological state can cause physical weakness, dizziness, abnormally low blood pressure, and dangerous heart rhythm disturbances.
Extended starvation also leads to visible physical deterioration, including worsening skin and hair condition, systemic hormonal disruptions, the cessation of menstruation in women, and a significant loss of bone density. In addition to physical decline, impaired brain function can heighten anxiety, increase irritability, and trigger depressive symptoms.
Understanding eating disorders and medical care
Eating disorders represent serious psychiatric conditions characterized by severe disturbances in eating behavior and distorted body image perception. Medical institutions such as the European Medical Center, a private healthcare provider in Moscow, offer specialized psychiatric and nutritional care to manage both the emotional and physiological impacts of severe caloric restriction.
Healthcare professionals emphasize that early identification of restrictive eating patterns is critical to preventing long-term physical damage and chronic mental health complications. Shafarenko advised that recognizing when routine wellness habits cross into obsessive control is an essential step in seeking timely medical guidance.
