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Latest beauty meme clinches China at the waist
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The latest trend is the "A4 waist challenge" where women take photos with a A4-sized paper placed in front of their midriffs. (Weibo via China Daily/-)
A social media trend is sweeping those on the never-ending quest for the "ideal body” right off their feet.
In recent months, China witnessed several ways to prove one's top-notch shape, including placing coins on one's collarbone and the belly button challenge.
But that's so yesterday. The latest trend is the "A4 waist challenge" where women take photos with a A4-sized paper placed in front of their midriffs. If one's waist is completely hidden behind the paper, it is concrete proof that one has a thin waist.
Mind you, the A4 paper is 21 cm in width.
The A4 waist challenge started in China around February and has seen hordes of Chinese women, actresses Yuan Shanshan and Qi Wei among them, posting photos on their Weibo accounts to show their trimmed waistlines.
Weibo now has millions of photos with the hashtag #A4waist#. And just like its predecessors, the controversial A4 waist challenge has enjoyed its share of temporary stardom and plenty of mockery.
Many Internet users criticized the challenge for encouraging women and girls to have unhealthy ideas on what they should look like.
Renowned Chinese-American standup comedian Joe Wong mocked the challenge with a selfie of himself covering his face with an A4 paper, wittily captioned "I have A4 face".
Some have taken this "new standard of fitness" to the extreme. And sadly, they are not using their motivations to pump irons in the gym.
According to LiaoShen Evening News, a 16-year-old aspiring arts student was forcefully taken to hospital by her mother for suspected bulimia.
Shao Lichun, a doctor specializing in digestion at the Shenyang 463rd Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, said a healthy diet is the key to fitness.
"Humans need about 2,000 calories to function on a daily basis, most of them coming from carbohydrates like rice and flour. Those who skip carbohydrates and only drink juices or only eat vegetables can cause an imbalance in the metabolism of fats, which may lead to malnutrition and cause even more weight gain," said Shao.
