As summer approaches, social media platforms are flooding with content related toward achieving the ideal ‘summer body’: a term that implies that bodies need to look a certain way in order to enjoy summer and perpetuates toxic standards and unhealthy attitudes about weight and appearance. Here are some of Lynbrook students’ opinions on summer bodies.

Freshman Arnav Signhal

“The standard could be considered unhealthy if it makes people feel worse about themselves. If this trend helps encourage people to pursue their goals or promotes a healthier lifestyle without making people think negatively about themselves, then it could be considered healthy.”—Arnav Signhal, freshman

Sophomore Riki Murase

“Pursuing fitness is a healthy endeavor for most people to take on. However, I also believe that it’s very easy to be misled by social media, as popular stereotypes and societal standards for body types are often restrictive and put immense pressure on many people to change their bodies in ways that may put them in danger.” —Riki Murase, sophomore

Junior Riya Ubale

“To me, a summer body is being comfortable in your body throughout the summer. But a lot of people beg to differ. They think the summer body is a body that is slim and toned. While that could be your definition of a summer body, it’s not everyone’s. Summer should be a time when people can go out and feel comfortable in what they wear.”—Riya Ubale, junior

Senior Olivia Bu

“A healthier alternative to the mindset of getting a summer body is to not follow what other people do, instead, use bits and parts of other’s routines to create your own goals after getting to understand your own body.”—Olivia Bu, senior