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The story
An AERA article covering the Gen Z internet slang term “the meal-cancelling crowd” became a hot topic on 5ch’s Breaking News board. The term describes skipping meals with the same casual mindset as cancelling an appointment, and the article warns of the danger in this normalizing and justifying “not being able to eat.” Opinions in the thread split over the real cause: some pointed to intentional mini-fasting for beauty purposes or the benefits of autophagy, while others took a cooler view, suggesting it’s really just an excuse to cover up “being too broke to eat” amid rising prices, or noted that people are simply forgetting to eat because they’re glued to their phones.
Is the “meal-cancelling crowd” that Gen Z casually talks about really okay? The hidden “danger” of young people justifying not eating
Published Mon, 9/21, 11:30
AERA DIGITAL
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Three meals a day is too many for humans. Gen Z really gets this.
Energy drinks are the best!
Welcome to the world of diabetes-inducing stimulant addiction!
too much of a hassle these days?
If you just say "cancelled," you can cover up the fact that you're actually too broke to eat lol
Ah, the perks of being young.
No you weren't.
You'll definitely pay for it later.
Yeah, that's what happens when you feed kids such pathetic school lunches during their growth years.
Heck, you could stretch one bag of pre-cut cabbage over a whole day.
And on top of that, they're skimping on food money to spend on microtransactions and tips/donations.
That's probably it.
Young people these days are all smartphone addicts.
You sometimes see people at beef bowl joints frozen solid, so absorbed in their phones their food must be getting cold.
They're basically just watching videos — makes you wonder if it's really worth it.
Gen Z has small bodies, and staying up late since childhood already raises concerns about brain development — and now they're not eating either? Are they really going to be okay?
Gen Z already looks listless and dead-eyed even when eating normally and taking baths — skip meals too and it's only going to get worse lol
By then they'll have attained enlightenment and joined the "hair-cancelling crowd," so it's fine.
The phone basically is their body at this point.
Not that I'm broke.
I eat a normal breakfast, then eat and drink a ton at night.
So close.
There's this thing called the 16-hour health method — go 16 hours without eating and you get healthy!!!
Well, as for me, I've been doing that naturally since way back…
Probably around their 30s.
Or their 20s if it hits early.
Sounds about right.
Stick a bamboo tube in for breathing.
Just keep ringing the bell.
Ever since my diabetes diagnosis I've carefully managed what and how much I eat, and my numbers improved.
But I'm not losing any weight at all. Not gaining either, but…
Losing weight is way too hard!
Speaking as someone who dropped from 103kg to 75kg, if all you want is to lose weight, carb restriction is the strongest method.
Though you'll get constant head rushes whenever you crouch down or stand up.
That's "betiabes" for you (a jumbled version of the Japanese word for diabetes — just wordplay).
Doesn't seem great for your brain either.
And I hate the irritability too (´・ω・｀)
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
“The meal-cancelling crowd” is social-media-born slang referring to skipping meals with the same casual mindset as cancelling plans. The AERA article frames this as risky because it lets people casually justify not eating with a “well, whatever” attitude. What split opinion in the thread was how to interpret the phenomenon itself. Some saw it as deliberate fasting aimed at beauty or autophagy benefits, while others pointed to causes quite different from what the slang implies — that people are actually being forced to cut food costs due to rising prices, or are simply forgetting to eat because they’re absorbed in their phones. The “danger of justification” the article raises is concern over eating-disorder-like behavior becoming normalized, but it’s worth noting that most of the thread’s comments are fragmentary personal anecdotes, so there’s a gap in tone between them and that kind of medical concern.
*This article was compiled by excerpting and summarizing the 5ch (Breaking News+) thread “[Gen Z] Is the “meal-cancelling crowd” really okay? The hidden “danger” of young people justifying not eating.”
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