Social media used to dictate how Southern Methodist University senior Yasmine Boueri viewed fitness, nutrition, and her body.
Fitness challenges and “What I Eat in a Day” videos like 12-3-30 or 75 Hard circulate Boueri’s social media algorithm, feeding her obsession with looking like the girls who surround her at SMU, where women are known for their model features and expensive style.
Without healthy tools or guidance, many students say they turn to social media to keep up with beauty standards, slipping into cycles of comparison, restriction, and trend-driven habits. Boueri said she has gone through this cycle firsthand.
The biggest help, Boueri said, was going to therapy. She was able to shift her mentality after years of trying every diet known to man.
Boueri’s therapist, Michelle Nemeth, said she has witnessed firsthand how promoting balance can reshape a student’s relationship with food and fitness.
“I feel that she has really changed her mindset around food and what it means,” Nemeth said. “Working out has become a healthy outlet for her to release her stress.”
Now that Boueri has found balance in her routine and mental health, her mindset toward social media fitness content has shifted. She now uses it for inspiration and follows fitness creators like Emily Rule who promote balance.
Similar to Boueri, for Rule, social media initially fueled insecurity, pushing her into the same comparison traps many SMU students know too well.
“That is one of the reasons why I started my page,” Rule said. “I wanted to create a space where balance was top priority, because you really can have both.”
As a former college student herself, Rule remembers how easily trends could take over campus culture.
“I wish I could go back to 20-year-old me and tell her to do her research before trying the latest diet before spring break,” Rule said. “I also wish I could tell her she didn’t need to change a thing.”
Supermodel University
Finding balance on a campus like SMU remains challenging. Boueri said toxic body-image is embedded in the culture and daily conversation among students.
“SMU definitely gives attention to skinny girls,” Boueri said. “My biggest problem is how open girls are about their relationship with food, and it being such a toxic thing.”
She said she hears students brag about how little they ate that day or how long they spent at the gym. Those conversations made her question her own progress.
Scarlett Barnett describes SMU in a similar way, calling it “supermodel university,” where beauty, fashion and fitness standards are high.
“The standard here is definitely a blonde skinny rich girl who wears a lot of designer clothes who brings her $2000 Goyard bag to class,” Barnett said.
SMU dietitian Erica Kertz said SMU’s culture can lead to students to stress about their body image, leading to over-exercising and injuries. She also said the intensity of online fitness trends makes them particularly difficult to push back against.
Kertz said she focuses on giving them tools to break out of comparison-driven cycles and reconnect with what their bodies need.
“If more people shared practical, sustainable strategies, it could help shift the culture,” Kertz said. “Fitness and nutrition are highly individualized, so finding a personal approach that fits your body, lifestyle, and goals is key, and that’s where a licensed professional can really make a difference.”
That individualized approach is precisely what transformed Boueri’s own habits. After years of trying every trend and diet online, she finally stepped back. With guidance from a professional, Boueri was able to build routines that genuinely supported her rather than drained her. She now approaches fitness from a place of stability rather than fear and hopes other SMU students can begin to do the same.
“I think every girl here is, like, uniquely a ten,” Boueri said. “Including me, including you, including all of us.”
Southern Methodist University journalism students and KERA are collaborating on a series of solutions journalism stories that explore mental health.
