I remember the 1990s well. Kate Moss was everywhere. Heroin chic was not just a look. It was the goal. We pushed carrots around our plates and found excuses to miss dinner. Not because we were busy, but because eating felt like quitting.
I learned the hard way what that kind of thinking costs. And I have spent the years since helping others find a different path.
So when skeleton-thin silhouettes returned to the red carpet in 2026, after years of “Strong is the New Skinny” messaging, I was not surprised by what followed. I heard it in coaching sessions. I saw it in the questions people were asking. Old beliefs that many women thought they had outgrown quietly resurfaced.
This is not a phase we left behind. It is a pattern. And it shows up at work.
Body Image Does Not Clock Out.
The cultural messages women absorb about their bodies do not disappear when they walk into the office. According to the National Organization for Women, 53% of American girls are unhappy with their bodies by age 13, a number that climbs to 78% by age 17. Those beliefs follow women into adulthood, into careers, into every environment where they are being seen and evaluated.
Those feelings do not stay at home when the workday starts. In the workplace, that can look like:
- Difficulty concentrating when a trend cycle reactivates old anxieties
- Decreased confidence in high-visibility situations
- Energy spent on food and appearance concerns that could go toward performance
- Withdrawal from social situations like team lunches or work events
These are not personal failings. They are predictable responses to cultural pressure, and they have real costs for employees and organizations alike.
What Health Coaching Actually Does Here.
Strengths-based health coaching does not focus on weight or appearance. It focuses on capability: what someone wants to be able to do, feel, and sustain over time.
The questions coaching asks look different from what most wellness programs offer:
- What matters to you now, and in 10 years?
- How do you want to feel in your body and your life?
- What supports your energy, confidence, and resilience?
- What habits actually fit your real life, not a trend?
That reframe matters. When the cultural noise gets loud, coaching gives employees a grounded alternative, one rooted in their own values, not a red carpet moment.
At Avidon Health, our coaches are trained in cognitive behavioral techniques that help people recognize the thought patterns behind these responses and build new ones. It is not about fixing how someone looks. It is about building the kind of self-trust that does not depend on what is trending.
A Different Measure of Health.
The metric that actually moves the needle is not a number on a scale. It is whether someone feels capable, resilient, and confident enough to show up fully—at home, at work, in their own life.
That is what sustainable health looks like. And it is what coaching is built to support.
If today’s trends are stirring something up for you or someone on your team, that is worth paying attention to. Health coaching can help, and no one has to figure it out alone.
