It’s been a while since a movie has made as big of a marketing splash as Barbie.
Since its premiere on July 21, the blockbuster has brought in nearly $1 billion worldwide and caused a pop culture sensation.
Outside of superhero films supported by longstanding franchises, Barbie became the largest domestic opening for a film as well as one directed by a woman.
It’s not surprising, then, that Barbie is having a sizable influence beyond the movie theater.
The iconic doll has long had an impact on fashion, trendy outfits and memes, but now her reach has extended to the world of health and wellness.
Inspired by the film, consumers and brands alike are leaning into the Barbie effect when it comes to dieting, foot challenges, body positivity and Botox.
Even medical marketing hasn’t fully escaped the pink zeitgeist shift, as Merck Group recently highlighted “vibrant magenta” as one of its brand colors, using the hashtag #barbie in a post on Instagram.
After all, Barbie isn’t just into fashion – she’s “everything” – beautiful, successful and empowered.
Below are a few Barbie-related health trends we’ve come across and why people are picking them up.
Searching for the Margot Robbie diet
Celebrities have long had an outsized influence over dieting, lifestyle and fitness trends. Given this established dynamic, Margot Robbie, who plays the titular role in the movie, has joined the legion of Hollywood tastemakers.
Google searches for “Margot Robbie diet” ballooned by 1364% since Barbie premiered, according to online fitness resource Total Shape.
“The 1950s swimsuit in particular was an unforgettable look, leaving viewers questioning exactly how the actress maintains her figure,” Total Shape noted in a press release.
In past interviews, Robbie has shared some of her eating habits — such as a typical breakfast involving porridge and a green smoothie, a protein-rich lunch like lemon chicken and either tuna or other fish for dinner, along with vegetables and carbohydrates.
That sounds healthy overall, though Robbie has admitted to enjoying food rather than constantly restricting.
“I’m not good at moderation,” Robbie told Emirates Woman. “I get miserable if I don’t eat. I can’t just have a salad every day and a half a glass of wine every second day. I can’t do it.”
People often look to celebrities to model their own lifestyle, fitness or diet practices after them. However, a spokesperson from Total Shape noted that while this “certainly reflects celebrities’ influence” on fitness and health, crafting the healthiest diet will be different for everyone.
“While the foods within Margot’s diet have plenty of health benefits, it’s important to remember that one diet does not suit everybody,” Total Shape stated. “It can be helpful to try different foods to see what works best for your goals, whether that be weight loss or building muscle.”
Stand up for the Barbie Feet challenge
Barbie’s feet are chronically pointed and set in high heel mode, even when she’s barefoot. With so many Barbie foot shots in the movie, a silly TikTok trend was inevitably going to sprout from it.
Even before the premiere, the famous shot of Barbie daintily stepping out of her pink high heels and remaining on tip toes, garnered plenty of attention online.
In April, television personality Chrissy Teigen tweeted that “I need to know everything about this shot.”
The fascination with Barbie’s feet has spurred a recent TikTok challenge dubbed the “Barbie feet” challenge, in which users attempt to recreate the famous scene with their own feet.
“People are losing their minds over a two-second clip of her feet,” one TikToker said in a video. “Every Barbie doll has those feet – they’re weirdly arched, really pointed and slim.”
Even Teigen herself took part in the trend and posted a video on Instagram.
Another TikTok with more than 7 million views from user Sophia Webster nails the shot nearly perfectly.
In a video responding to the trend, TikTok dance fitness influencer @dancebody even showed some exercises that can help strengthen your feet and ankles, with a Barbie-themedtwist.
Still, with every trend comes worries about its downsides. Some podiatrists have begun sounding the alarm on how overdoing the trend could be potentially risky for your feet. After all, standing on your tiptoes for a long period of time isn’t sustainable.
“You’re putting your entire weight on the ball of your foot, which is something that most of us don’t do unless you’re wearing high heels,” podiatrist Dr. Alireza Khosroabadi told Yahoo!. “With every step, this weight gets transferred to the ball of the foot, which is not designed to sustain that kind of weight.”
Even if people are doing it just for a few seconds, there’s always a slight risk of rolling your ankle or tearing a muscle “if you’re not careful,” Khosroabadi added.
Bring in the Barbie Botox
Given the viral popularity of TikTok among young users, there has been a marked increase in cosmetic procedures like Botox in the past few years. Now, of course, there’s a Barbie spin on the cosmetic procedure.
In a relatively new and niche trend, people are seeking out “Barbie Botox” – getting injections of the neurotoxic protein into the trapezius muscle in your shoulders. The goal of the procedure is to make your shoulder muscles relax and lower, giving the impression of a longer neck.
In TikTok videos, women who have tried the procedure gush about its effects.
However, “Barbie Botox” is turning out to be more than just adjusting the appearance of your neck. Some TikTokers who have tried the procedure are sharing videos describing the longer-term benefits and effects on their mental health.
In one video, TikToker Janessa Milan describes how the relaxing effect of Botox in her shoulders may have released some of the trauma her body was holding – and that she felt better after processing some of those emotions. With TikTok being the home of plenty of open mental health conversations, it’s interesting to see all these areas interlap.
‘Barbiecore’ body positivity
Barbie is everything and the positivity surrounding her aesthetic permeates online culture down to the clothes people wear.
#Barbiecore is the term encompassing everyone’s flashy, glittery, pink, 90s-inspired Barbie outfits. Since the premiere, waves of TikTok videos showing off everyone’s creative fits have flooded the internet.
The #Barbiecore trend takes on a whole new meaning when it’s paired with body positivity and plus-size models, too. Critically, it provides a means of self-empowerment when it comes to mental health and body positivity.
Scores of TikTokers are showing their #Barbiecore outfits along with the hashtags #bodypositivity and #plussizefashion.
