IU has always been known to be petite and skinny, and people love her for her sweet girl next door image. Now, however, fans and netizens alike show their concern for IU after she revealed on her Instagram story what she considers a "cheat day meal."
IU shared a photo to her Instagram story of her eating a small bowl of bibimmyeon ramen. She added a caption that says, "Ha, since it was a hard day today, it's okay to eat bibimmyeon."
Bibimmyeon is famous for how small the portion is, and most people don't even consider it a meal. Most netizens consider it to be a small snack. IU's revelation caused a stir amongst fans and netizens who are now considered for health. Some netizens have stated the normal serving size of bibimmyeon is one and a half packs. Other netizens even commented that they don't care about how many packs of bibimmyeon they eat, and yet someone as skinny as IU is so careful.
Concerned netizens left comments such as, "She probably debates a lot before deciding to eat even just one bibimmyeon because she's afraid of getting fat. That portion isn't even enough for people to consider a snack."
This is not the first time IU's health was put under the limelight. A few years ago, IU started trending for her crazy diet plan, dubbed fittingly as "The IU Diet." The meal plan consisted of one apple for breakfast, one sweet potato for lunch, and one protein shake for dinner. This is approximately 700 calories a day. On top of that, IU would constantly go to the gym for 30 minutes every day and go running. She allegedly lost 5kg (11 pounds) in one week.
It gained infamy for being an extreme K-Pop diet and was heavily criticized by health experts for being unhealthy and not being a permanent fix for weight loss. It is not recommended to do the IU diet for more than two weeks.
Some of the IU diet's side effects include disproportionate weight loss, saggy skin, dizzy spells, nausea, and negative effects on your mental health. Another side-effect is yo-yoing, in which weight constantly fluctuates.
Back in 2014, IU revealed on SBS's "Healing Camp" that she has received treatment for bulimia. She confided that when she debuted, she felt anxious and filled the void with food. She admitted that she ate until she threw up. She also said that she would feel lethargic, and all she would do is eat and sleep. This feeling caused her to hate herself.
With all of this together, fans are understandably concerned about IU's well-being. Many hope that she is receiving help if she is struggling with her body image and the hope that IU is not being forced to diet or think she is fat when she is not. IU has not responded to netizen's concerns.
