Strength training !== bulking up

High (comparative) weight + low reps builds strength (and muscle recruitment) without (necessarily) building lots of new muscle fibers. Muscle hypertrophy happens most often with lower weights and higher repetitions, plus loads of calories. A program like "Starting Strength" is not about hypertrophy.

Any exercise is potentially "unhealthy," particularly if it requires specialized movements. You can learn proper form for "base" lifts like the squat and deadlift without any equipment at first.

Sigh...squats considered unhealthy? A new lifter should be focused on form and technique for every weighted exercise.

Muscle does not 'build' without eating. Size comes from calories plus progressive loading.

As for as health goes, every person (particularly those untrained) would be more healthy with more strength. More strength means less likely to injure oneself in everyday movements and less likely to have events like falls as they get older. And to loop back around to the top, squats are key part of this type of health.

Why are Squats with weights “unhealthy”?

Because you can hold a squat with only body weight and improve faster that squatting with barbells.

What is your evidence that bodyweight squats let you 'improve faster' than barbell squats.

I admit you're probably right if your goal is to get good at bodyweight squat...

That's absurd, like saying "You can walk a mile and improve faster than running a marathon" is absurd. To anyone who isn't out of shape to the point of immobility, body weight squats are barely exertion.

... how are squats "unhealthy"?

If you're new to lifting, your form is likely to be terrible, it's easy to do some damage to your lower back and knees.

If you are new to lifting, you probably shouldn’t be handling weights that can damage your lower back and knees. You will learn the correct form as you progress. Ego is more dangerous than squats.

This is why bodyweight or lower weight squats like goblet are safer. Failure with bodyweight squat doesnt put you out two months. Very easy to add too much weight in the squat rack. Asking beginners to know good form on day 1 squatting means they need a trainer.

i've seen this mentality floating around and i don't quite understand it. i think the real problem is this sense of competition and machismo where new lifters feel like they have to be good at it on day one and can't employ a little humility and patience to work on their mobility. these movements are essential and it blows my mind the excuses people will make not do do them.

to anyone here who routinely jumps to one plate without warming up and struggles to hit depth: know that i pity you, but you can still back off and get good at these movements if you really care.

Not unless you chuck a whole lot of weight on inappropriately. The advice for almost all newbies is to start with the bar. Even then they could put some weight on and still not be at any risk at all. The issues don't show up for quite some time with inappropriate form, or u til quite a bit of weight is put on prematurely. Starting off with dome youtube videos is just fine. Getting help when you eventually want to progress further and get more serious is recommended.

Just to let you know there is not really any good evidence for anything you are saying.

I'm a fan of squats, I did 340lbs last week, heaviest 385lbs.

I got injured doing a 225lb warmup on squats. If I had to diagnose what actually happened, I'm overly tight and the synovial fluid caused some injury.

But that injury lasted 1-2 months, I just didn't squat. I've been neglecting stretching for to long.

Building muscle is possibly the most healthy thing you can do. Within limits if course. But it ensures a framework arround your sensitive ligaments your body build becomes straight and symmetrical. All ingredients for a injury free life. It should be mandatory for everyone to exercise 3 times a week and build up some muscle. Just like the good old cave days.

Squats are not unhealthy. They are probably the single most useful exercises you can put your body through: high exertion activity for your largest muscle groups means it's a better calorie burner than most people's cardio routines, they work out your core and other stabilizing muscles, which helps you not hurt yourself anywhere else in the gym, and they (in conjunction with deadlifts) build the muscles human beings actually use to move heavy objects.