What is 'girl dinner', the trend making its rounds on social media?
“What it seemed to have originated as, essentially just a ragtag charcuterie dinner. A lot of typically cold stuff, just thrown together in this sort of childlike tapas sense,” said Maggie G. Lyon, a registered dietitian and nutritionist at the University of New Haven.
The girl dinner hashtag on TikTok had more than 1.5 billion views as of September 1, 2023.
A 'girl dinner' started out as a collection of snacks and foods that don’t require any cooking, then the trend turned viral and people took it in all sorts of directions. Some takes of the idea were just eating chips, or just having popcorn and wine for dinner, among other combinations.
So why is the trend causing concern?
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“With anything with social media, if you're unable to separate the signal from the noise then it can be a little troublesome,” Lyon said.
She said the girl dinner trend can be worrisome if it’s used in the wrong way, or is seen without context by younger or more susceptible populations.
“We have evidence to show that as long as we’re eating a varied diet, that’s really good for not just our wellness, in terms of getting those micronutrients, but also for our microbiome,” Lyon said.
She said as long as you’re getting a well balanced meal with proteins, fats, and carbs, there isn’t too much to worry about.
“I look at a lot of these and I think that it's done in jest,” she said.
In general, nutritionists recommend you meet your daily calorie intake requirements, which you can calculate on the USDA’s website.
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