Ohio State expert warns viral ‘maxxing’ trends can backfire

Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center experts say social media’s “maxxing” health trends can push people toward extreme routines that lack evidence and may cause harm. They recommend research-based habits instead, including nutrition, movement, sleep, stress management and social connection.

Why it matters: - Social media-driven health trends can look effective while masking risks like nutrient deficiencies, anxiety around food and toxic supplement levels. - The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center says people may spend time and money on routines that do not address the real health problem. - Doctors say sustainable habits are more likely to improve long-term health than extreme online fads.

What happened: - Social media feeds are filling with “maxxing” content that promotes maximizing health through extreme diet, fitness, sleep and supplement routines. - The algorithm often serves more of the same content after users click on a “maxxing” post. - Alison MacKinlay, MD, a family and lifestyle medicine physician and clinical associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, warned that many of these practices do not have enough evidence behind them.

The details: - “Maxxing” includes several trend categories. - Health-maxxing combines intense diet, exercise and sleep tracking with apps and devices. - Wellness-maxxing uses multiple strategies to improve physical health and mental well-being. - Strength-maxxing pushes extreme workouts to build strength and appearance. - Protein-maxxing focuses on high amounts of protein-rich foods and supplements to increase muscle mass. - Extreme elimination diets can raise the risk of nutrient deficiencies and trigger anxiety around food. - Excessive supplement use can reach toxic levels. - MacKinlay said lab work can help monitor supplement levels when needed. - MacKinlay said people should stop a trend if it costs money, causes stress or leads to physical harm. - MacKinlay recommends putting time and money into something that actually helps the health concern.

Between the lines: - The appeal of “maxxing” comes from simple, highly shareable promises of optimization. - The medical warning is that one-size-fits-all health advice rarely works, especially when it comes from social media. - The Ohio State approach favors behavior change that is slower, less flashy and more individualized.

What's next: - MacKinlay recommends people bring these trends up during medical visits. - Doctors can look for red flags, explain the evidence and help patients choose safer options. - The lifestyle medicine approach centers on nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress reduction, substance avoidance and social connection. - MacKinlay said small goals and routine-building can help people make lasting progress. - The practice emphasizes plant-predominant foods, regular movement, restorative sleep, mindfulness and meaningful relationships. - Ohio State says the goal is to build habits gradually instead of chasing a social media version of wellness.

The bottom line: - Viral “maxxing” trends may promise better health fast, but Ohio State experts say proven daily habits are safer and more likely to work.