By Staff Writer (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Jan 09, 2014 05:04 AM EST

Last year saw the rise of the "thigh gap," which was said to have been made cool by the likes of Cara Delevingne and the rest of the catwalk regulars, according to the Daily Mail. The trend is characterized by upper legs so thin that they don't touch each other. Surgery procedures offering this aesthetic also popped up in the wake of the said "thinspiration" trend.

This year, it's all about the "bikini bridge" or that "horizontal line that is formed on a woman's bikini bottoms as a result of the suspended gap between the bikini and the lower abdomen," as described by Know Your Meme.

Or so what prank-loving 4chan members said.

Unidentified members of the said Internet-based message board spread a variety of photos and tweets of women showing off their bikini bridges, pushing the said body feature as the newest trend.

However, what was supposed to be something for laughs swiftly became a viral phenomenon and meme that could fuel unhealthy obsessions among those saddled by eating disorders, a New York Daily News article warned.

"When someone HAS an eating disorder, they will view this as a challenge - do I have that bridge?" said National Eating Disorders Association CEO and President Lynn Grefe. "It just promotes the sad competition in a person's brain, as they never feel thin enough."

Katie Lowe, who blogs about body image and health, shared her thoughts to the New York Daily News on the phenomenon.

"While it's apparently a joke to those 'in on it,' I have no doubt that a large number of the tweets and comments that followed it are from people who don't realize that - and will hold it up as yet another thing they should aspire to achieve," she said.

"It's damaging on two fronts - firstly, by encouraging people not naturally built that way to develop disordered eating patterns in order to achieve it; and secondly, by creating a new tool for men and women to shame each other - either because they're 'too fat' to achieve it, or 'too thin' for possessing it."

According to her, while the real reason for the prank is commendable, the means by which it is acted upon is failing.

"The reason behind the hoax, apparently, was to fight feminism and cause shaming - so for that reason, I think the only way to face it is to combat shaming, rather than the image itself."

Lowe added, "I think we have to respond by encouraging women - and, let's not forget, men - to appreciate their own bodies, and learn to accept themselves against a media standard that suggests there's only one type of perfection."

Have something to say about this bikini bridge trend, Latinos Post readers? Let us know!

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