TikTok does not verify expert qualifications or credentials; it only verifies the authenticity of a public figure, brand, or creator by checking if the account is the genuine presence of that person or organization. The blue checkmark indicates identity, not expertise.
While not all trends are bad, following trends on TikTok can pose significant physical and psychological dangers, ranging from severe injury or death in extreme cases to serious mental health issues and legal problems. The algorithm’s design and the power of peer pressure can lead individuals, particularly young people, to participate in risky activities without fully understanding the consequences.
Physical Dangers
Many viral challenges involve dangerous stunts, misuse of products, or self-harm, which can lead to severe injuries or fatalities.
- “Benadryl Challenge”: Dares participants to ingest excessive amounts of allergy medication to induce hallucinations, leading to hospitalizations, seizures, coma, and potentially death from overdose.
- “Fire Challenge”: Involves setting oneself or objects on fire using flammable liquids, causing severe burns and fire hazards.
- “Milk Crate Challenge”: Participants attempt to climb a precarious pyramid of milk crates, often resulting in painful falls, broken bones, concussions, and spinal injuries.
- “Tide Pod Challenge”: Encouraged eating laundry detergent pods, causing poisoning, chemical burns, and breathing difficulties.
- “Outlet Challenge”: Involves partially plugging in a phone charger and touching the prongs with a penny, which creates a fire hazard and risk of electrocution.
- “Sleepy Chicken” Challenge: Involves cooking chicken in NyQuil, a practice warned against by the FDA due to the risk of ingesting unsafe levels of medication.
- “Bed Rotting Challenge”: Involves lying in bed while endlessly doomscrolling on the phone or other mobile devices, leaving the blinds down, and keeping contact with others to an absolute minimum to avoid all other life responsibilities for as long as possible.
Psychological Dangers
The environment and content on TikTok can have a negative impact on mental and emotional well-being.
- Negative Self-Image and Body Image Issues: Exposure to curated, often unrealistic, portrayals of bodies, wealth, and lifestyles can lead to social comparison, low self-esteem, feelings of inadequacy, and in some cases, eating disorders.
- Anxiety and Depression: Excessive social media use has been linked to increased rates of anxiety and depression, loneliness, and psychological distress.
- Addiction and Sleep Disruption: The platform’s algorithm is designed to maximize engagement, which can lead to compulsive use and addiction, disrupting healthy activities like sleep and physical exercise.
- Cyberbullying and Harassment: The open nature of comments and messaging exposes users to potential harassment, insults, and hate speech, which can have long-lasting emotional scars.
- Misinformation: Trends can spread false or misleading information, particularly regarding health advice, leading users to engage in harmful behaviors like placing garlic in nostrils for health benefits (which can cause irritation).
- Social Isolation/Peer Pressure: The pressure to participate to fit in or gain social validation (likes and shares) can override good judgment, while excessive time online can actually lead to feelings of social isolation from real-life connections.
Expert Debunks 3 TikTok Viral Weight Loss Hacks
From a baby food diet to the so-called “Ozempic water”, TikTok is full of viral weight-loss hacks promising quick results. In fact, 57% of users admit they’ve tried health trends they saw on the app. But a recent study found that only 2.1% of TikTok nutrition videos were fully accurate, meaning the majority contain misinformation.
“People follow these hacks thinking they’ll see fast results,” says Maria AbiHanna, nutrition expert and CEO at Food Label Maker. “But the reality is they don’t work the way social media makes it seem, and in some cases, they can even backfire.”
Food Label Maker has asked its experts to break down the most popular TikTok weight loss hacks and offer smarter swaps that can actually achieve results.
1. The Beyoncé Master Cleanse Ozempic Water
A liquid-only “detox” of lemon juice, cayenne pepper, maple syrup, and water became famous after Beyoncé used it to lose weight for a role. On TikTok, #mastercleanse has attracted over 18 million views, with creators promising a “fast fix” detox.
The Reality: This is essentially a starvation diet, averaging ~600 calories/day. While people can lose weight fast, studies show extreme calorie restriction slows metabolism and triggers rebound weight gain in 80% of participants within one year.
The Swap: For longer-lasting results, go for a balanced 1,200–1,600 calorie plan with protein, fiber, and proper hydration.
2. The Baby Food Diet
Popularized by celebrities, this diet swaps regular meals for jars of baby food. The hashtag #babyfooddiet has more than 5.4 million views on TikTok, with creators claiming it’s an easy way to cut down calories.
The Reality: Most jars contain 40–100 calories and very little protein or fiber. Research shows that ultra-low-calorie diets (<800 calories/day) cause rapid short-term weight loss, but also lead to nutrient deficiencies and muscle loss of up to 25% of total weight lost.
The Swap: Studies show that calorie-restricted diets with a higher protein content preserve lean mass better than “baby food” style diets.
3. Eating “Negative-Calorie” Foods
The trend claims that foods like celery or cucumbers take more energy to digest than the energy they provide, leading to automatic fat loss. This follows the science of The Thermic Effect of Food (TEF), which is the amount of energy your body uses to metabolize food. However, in this case, the claim behind the trend is a misconception. On TikTok, #negativecaloriefoods has more than 3.2 million views, with cucumber salad videos going viral as a supposed “weight loss hack.”
The Reality: There is no evidence of true “negative-calorie” foods. Celery, for example, has ~10 calories per stalk, and digestion burns only ~5–10% of those calories. The net effect is still positive energy intake, as the body always gains energy from food, even in very low-calorie items, TEF accounts for a small portion of your total daily expenditure and is not a magical way to burn more calories than you take in.
The Swap: Use high-volume, low-calorie foods (leafy greens, zucchini, cucumber) to bulk up meals and reduce hunger.
Final Takeaway
“What makes these hacks appealing is their simplicity, but that’s also why they fail,” says AbiHanna. “Real nutrition is about patterns, not quick tricks, and once you see that, the viral shortcuts lose their appeal.”
This article was written at the WHN News Desk in collaboration with Ashley White on behalf of Food Label Maker, working to provide you with an accurate, compliant, and user-friendly software that simplifies the process of managing your recipes and generating nutrition and supplement facts labels with just a few clicks.
As with anything you read on the internet, this article on TikTok trends should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN neither agrees nor disagrees with any of the materials posted. This article on TikTok trends is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement. Additionally, it is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
