As an eating disorder specialist, I have become keenly aware of the insidious ways restriction shows up and the purpose it serves. And what I've observed most recently has led me to conclude that Gen Z has been missing out on an abundant existence—one that is teeming with pleasurable sex, satisfying meals, and an overall messiness. Instead, young adults have opted for optimization and control.

Gen Z is experiencing an uptick in disordered eating, and the growing use of weight loss drugs has fueled a thriving diet culture—but they are also restricting in so many more ways. Surveys suggest that about 50 percent of Gen Z turns to TikTok for health advice, where the information tends to be both prescriptive and restrictive—even if, in an optimization-obsessed culture, following health trends on social media is rarely seen as a form of restriction. Recent social media trends have young adults fiending for cottage cheese but struggling to date. This all suggests that Gen Z isn’t just trying to get their macros in; the reality is that they are struggling and grasping for a way to cope.

Along with their decreased appetites for food, they appear to have a lower risk threshold, leading to an increased unwillingness to be social and get messy. The data on young Americans’ sex lives is alarming to many, with 24 percent of 18–29-year-olds reporting they haven’t had........

© Psychology Today