Okay, everybody, the Worst Wellness Trend of the 2010s Tournament has officially drawn to a close, with anti-vaxxing claiming the number one slot once and for all. To be honest, we’re not totally surprised. Parents who choose not to vaccinate their kids are, after all, notorious for lifting rhetoric from the reproductive rights movement and pretty much completely responsible for the revival of once-dead diseases like measles. Wellness rocks!
Basically, this game was a race for second place—and although keto faced some truly worthy junk science contenders (shouts out to microdosing, shouts out to essential oils), the diet that dominated the latter half of the decade also dominated the bracket. Maybe it’s all the complicated, tough-to-maintain dietary restrictions that keep people yo-yo-ing back and forth between being “on” and “off” keto. Maybe it’s the fact that, while keto has proven benefits for people with conditions like epilepsy, it’s also associated with numerous risks, like hormonal disruptions, immunity problems, digestive catastrophes, and even brain functionality. Or, again, maybe it’s just because people who love keto are super annoying about it. We have a whole entire decade between now and the next Worst Wellness Trends Tournament to figure it out. Until then!
Videos by VICE
Round 6 (Championship—CLOSED)
Keto— Keto, or the “ketogenic diet,” is a high-fat, low-carb meal plan designed to send the body into a state called “ketosis” and burn up stored fat; it spiked in popularity around 2017. Studies have shown it has benefits for people looking to control neurological disorders like epilepsy. Otherwise, it’s potentially bad for your brain because it deprives it of the glucose it needs to run smoothly. Plus, it’s notoriously hard to sustain. Have you ever gone out to eat while doing keto? It’s almost as bad as going out to eat with someone who’s doing keto.
Not vaccinating your children—Being anti-vax is extremely stupid and actively harmful, and is the rare value shared by extremely wealthy liberals and Republicans. People who neglect to vaccinate their kids mostly do so because they’re worried about disproven side effects like autism. Vaccines are so soundly safe and medically advisable, that not believing in them is like thinking chemtrails are what happen when angels fart.
It was, frankly, a landslide.
What Was the Worst Wellness Trend of the 2010s?
Round 2: What Was the Worst Wellness Trend of the 2010s?
Round 3: What Was the Worst Wellness Trend of the 2010s?
Rounds 4 & 5: What Was the Worst Wellness Trend of the 2010s?
Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.
