'iPhone 6 Knees' Is The Latest Body-Shaming Challenge On Social Media

'A healthy body can not be compared to an everyday object.'
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Just when we thought we'd seen all the world had to offer when it came to ridiculous body-shaming trends, some genius came up with the 'iPhone 6 Knees' challenge. 

Women have been taking part in the challenge on Chinese social media site Weibo by posting a photo of their knees with an iPhone 6 against them.

The idea is to see if their knees are slim enough to be covered by the phone.

Body image campaigners have called the challenge "dangerous" and have raised concerns about the impact such social media trends have on vulnerable young women.

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weibo

Commenting on the trend, Rivkie Baum, editor of plus size magazine SLiNK, told The Huffington Post UK: "When I first saw this I assumed it had to be an April Fool's.

"This sudden burst of body-shaming trends is utterly horrendous and once again it seems our over use and abuse of social media is right at the heart of this.

"A healthy body cannot be compared to an everyday object and I think a ‘body challenge’ like this just shows how little young women are being taught about health over physicality."

Baum has called for more voices to condemn these kinds of "dangerous challenges" so that young girls seeing the images understand that they are not a measurement by which to live their lives.

"There are more and more worrying statistics about the time young people are spending on social media and if this is what they’re looking at then we need to find a way to slam on the brakes now," she added.

The 'iPhone 6 Knees' challenge shot onto our radar just weeks after the 'A4 Challenge' made headlines.

The challenge, which also originated in China but later spread worldwide, encourages women to see if their waists are smaller than an A4 sheet of paper.

Commenting on the latter challenge, Rebecca Field, head of communications at eating disorders charity Beat, said the trend could negatively impact vulnerable women.

“While social media cannot be the sole cause of an eating disorder, body image and low self-esteem are key factors in the development of eating disorders, and social and cultural pressures are strong in this area,” she told HuffPost UK.

“We should be celebrating diversity – women come in all shapes and sizes – not made to feel we don’t ‘shape up’ by promoting such images. This is another example of how social media can encourage unhealthy messages."

Our Body Image Heroes
Serena Willliams (01 of10)
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Serena Willliams was told she is "built like a man" by Twitter trolls, but that didn't stop her being super body confident."I love that I am a full woman and I’m strong and I’m powerful and I’m beautiful at the same time," she said. "And there’s nothing wrong with that." (credit:TIMOTHY A. CLARY via Getty Images)
Tess Holliday (02 of10)
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Lines like this are why we love Tess Holliday: "It's okay to be yourself, even if you happen to exist in a fat body. I'm sexy, confident and give no fucks. Also, fuck anyone for saying otherwise. " (credit:Curve Fashion Festival)
Demi Lovato (03 of10)
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Having previously opened up about her struggles with an eating disorder, Demi Lovato posed for an un-touched nude photo featured on the cover of Vanity Fair."I basically went from hating every single inch of my body to working on myself and trying to figure out ways to love myself and love the skin that I'm in," she said in an accompanying interview."I learned after working very hard on my spirituality and my soul and my body, I learned that you can get to a place where you love the skin that you're in and I'm excited to share that with the world." (credit:Vanity Fair)
Jameela Jamil (04 of10)
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Jameela Jamil has launched an inclusive clothing range to end the plus-size divide once and for all.“I find it infuriating that in this industry, size 10 and above is defined as ‘plus size’ especially when the average dress size in the UK is a 16," she said."We really shouldn’t be putting a label on size, fashion is for all and I think confidence and happiness is more important than dress labels.” (credit:David M. Benett via Getty Images)
Chrissy Teigen(05 of10)
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Chrissy Teigen proved even models aren't perfect when she posted a picture of her stretch marks on Instagram.Her post promoted comments like: "I've had stretch marks since I was 12 years old at 5'9". So important for young girls and now 29 year olds to see." (credit:Michael Loccisano via Getty Images)
Kate Winslet (06 of10)
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Actress Kate Winslet is determined to help her daughter develop a healthy body image."When I grew up, I never heard positive reinforcement about body image from any female in my life," she said. "I only ever heard negatives. That's very damaging because then you're programmed as a young woman to immediately scrutinise yourself and how you look.""And so I stand in front of the mirror and say to Mia, 'We are so lucky that we've got a shape. We're so lucky we're curvy. We're so lucky that we've got good bums.' And she'll say, 'Mummy, I know, thank God.' It's working, that thing that I've been doing. It's paying off." (credit:Matt Crossick/Matt Crossick)
Lupita Nyong'o(07 of10)
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Lupita Nyong'o has spoken out against the lack of diversity in the media saying: "European standards of beauty are something that plague the entire world—the idea that darker skin is not beautiful, that light skin is the key to success and love."She also loves her skin, as proven by her appearance in a brilliant Sesame Street sketch. (credit:Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)
Ashley Graham (08 of10)
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Model Ashley Graham refuses to be defined by her size."It’s fantastic when I’m not labeled as a plus size model in any interview or editorial I do," she told HuffPost UK Style."It makes a statement for women out there, 'look she’s not being described by her size, she’s being honoured by the things that she’s doing in the world'." (credit:Andy Kropa /Invision/AP)
Amy Schumer(09 of10)
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When a film critic called actress and comedian Amy Schumer "chubby", she responded by saying: "I am a US size 6 and have no plans of changing. This is it. Stay on or get off."Brilliant. (credit:Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Alexa Chung (10 of10)
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Alexa Chung has been skinny-shamed and called "gross" by online trolls, but instead of letting the haters get her down, she's become a spokesperson for body diversity in the media."I would love to look like Daisy Lowe, but I don't... but I'm happy with how I look. Equally, I don't want to use this as an example of how young girls should look," she said. (credit:KGC-146/STAR MAX/IPx)

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