Belly Button Challenge 2015: New Trend Raises Concerns on Body Image & Insecurity

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A new craze has once again taken over the internet and it involves touching one's own belly button by reaching behind the back and around the waist.

The craze dubbed as the "Belly Button Challenge" first originated in China where thousands of participants uploaded photos of themselves on Weibo—the Chinese equivalent of Twitter—showing off their bodies for the challenge.

It is particularly popular among young female users. The trend has produced more than 100,000 active discussion threads and was mentioned more than 130 million times among Weibo users.

According to ABC News, the trend started on Thursday night until Friday afternoon. Since then, the trend spread in other countries including the U.S., Russia and Vietnam in major social media sites like Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr to name a few.

Some health experts are concerned that this brand new craze may not be promoting healthy body image.

"Social media challenges like these can stoke comparison and body insecurity, especially for those struggling with disordered eating," said Claire Mysko, program director for National Eating Disorder Association, via ABC. "We advocate for body positivity challenges, which are empowering and encourage self-expression, not self-criticism."

Some Weibo users who took the challenge claim that those who pass the test means that they have good bodies as per a scientific study from the U.S., according to Daily Mail.

The U.S. study could be a hoax for all we know since no link or name has been posted. Some health experts also argued that the challenge isn't that great of a way to measure one's health.

"If you can touch your belly button from behind your back, you could be in better shape than someone who can't - but you shouldn't have a false sense of security about your health. You might have a small waist and look healthy, but your blood work could show that you're just as unhealthy as someone who weighs 400 pounds," Charlie Seltzer, MD., a Philadelphia weight-loss specialist told Cosmopolitan.

Dr. Seltzer added that there are many other factors like poor shoulder flexibility or short arms that hinder truly healthy people from passing the belly button challenge.

One standout picture is from a slightly chubby male blogger who captioned his photo with: "Is this trend really that difficult? I don't think so," according to the BBC.

In the photo, the man could be seen successfully touching his belly button despite his chubby physique. The photo garnered more than 2,500 likes and has been shared more than 8,000 times.

There were many positive comments on it too from other Weibo users.

"You go Buddha! Show the skinny girls how it's done," commented one user.

"I always root for the underdog. Now I don't feel so inadequate about not being able to touch my belly button," another user wrote.