Body checking
Risk flagRepeatedly photographing or filming your own body to scrutinize size and shape, or seeking out and watching similar content from others. Clinicians link the behavior closely to eating disorders and body dysmorphia — it can begin as self-monitoring and escalate into compulsion.
A parent might notice a teen spending time filming themselves from specific angles, or find a camera roll full of comparison shots. The hashtag #bodychecking drew over 5 million views on TikTok before the platform added eating-disorder resource screens to the search results. A 2026 clinical review in BJPsych Open found consistent links between this kind of body-image content, social comparison, and disordered eating in young people.
Is “Body checking” something to worry about?
Treat "Body checking" as real until you know otherwise. Kids often talk about distress in coded or joking language first — the cost of taking it seriously and being wrong is a slightly awkward conversation; the cost of dismissing it and being wrong is much higher.
- Ask directly and calmly. Naming it doesn’t plant the idea — that’s a myth.
- If there’s any indication of intent: the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988) is free and 24/7.
- Loosen the late-night phone window — distress content hits hardest alone at 2am.