MSU physiology Associate Professor Gina Leinninger said she occasionally finds herself eating a "girl dinner" when crunched for time.

"Just because I was very busy and I was in the process of moving," Leinninger said. "I had a meal that was a few crackers with peanut butter."

Leinninger, whose research focuses on the brain science behind eating, believes the trend may increase the risk of developing a restrictive eating disorder.

Leinninger said trends like girl dinner aren’t harmful until they become a habit, comparing it to the 2021 thigh gap trend, where many female influencers flaunted the gap between their thighs when standing up; experts said the trend was dangerous and promoted unrealistic beauty ideals. 

Biological sex and social influences are two restrictive eating disorder risk factors associated with the girl dinner trend, Leinninger said. Women are more likely to experience eating disorders, she said, and pressures to eat less could cause self-image problems to develop.

For genomics and molecular genetics and zoology sophomore Alexandria King, the concept of "girl dinners" is patronizing.

"I find it infantilizing towards women to take … little snacks and eat them because nobody wants to cook, and then call it 'girl dinner,'" King said.

King said she is upset to see the trend evolve into adding "girl" onto often normal tasks in daily life, including in her own.

"I live in an apartment with two other girls, and we were trying to figure out how to split up the rent between the three of us,” King said. “After we were finally done and everyone was in a bad mood and everything, we were like, ‘this is girl rent.’”

King said people get lazy and make small dinners regardless of gender.

"It’s just a normal thing," King said. "When girls do it, it’s like, 'oh, it’s suddenly gendered.'"

Human biology junior Shriya Panthagan said she's sure that guys also eat similar meals, she just doesn't see it very often.

Panthagan said the girl dinner trend is good for students because it helps raise awareness for poor eating habits.

"It’s nice, people are relating," Panthagan said. "I think girls – or anyone – should be more conscious about it."

Though she's shared her own "girl dinners" online, Panthagan said, she doesn’t want others to imitate her.

"I don’t try to promote girl dinner, but I’ll always make fun of it," she said.

Leinninger said it's common to have periods where people eat less than they want to for various reasons. While a one-off situation is generally not a problem, she said, the human body needs those nutrients to perform well.

However, she noted that a large number of risk factors must come together in a "perfect storm" to cause eating disorders.

"It’s often when those things come together in a reduced eating period – that can come due to a long-projected illness, stress, whatever it may be – and causes that restrictive eating,” Leinninger said. "It seems to solidify it."

Leinninger said there are a number of resources available to those who are experiencing eating disorders, including therapy, online resources and support groups.

"I’ve had a small meal here and there every now and then," Leinninger said. "I understand there’s a social pressure, it’s just important not to let that be an everyday thing."