I believe social media influencers are arguably as good as they are bad. Influencers may publish content to encourage healthy choices; however, the content is just as capable of doing the opposite. You can find anything to support anything on the internet, and perhaps even social media. I think it’s fair to say that all social media users looking to influence others are highly motivated by gaining popularity. This is a great generator for biases in what influencers publish.

This study conducted a mixed-methods systematic review of twenty-one other studies examining social media use for nutrition-related outcomes in young adults. Different sources and forms (articles, abstracts, etc.) that social media influencers use to convey information/interventions were screened, evaluated, and assessed for eligibility. This study found that only 1/9 trials showed that interventions from social media influencers had a positive statistically significant impact on nutritional outcomes.

It makes sense that social media users are open to receiving nutrition and health-related information online because it’s cheaper than a visit to the Doctor or Registered Dietitian. Keep in mind, we are not eager to share our results unless they’re positive. When we readily accept information from social media influencers, we tend to believe it’s true because we want it to be. It’s usually a promise that results are easy to obtain, easier than doing what’s science-based and proven over time to help you with something like weight loss.

Social media influencers are behind so many food trends. This poses various dangers to the public. It puts too much power in the hands of influencers who don’t require proper education to influence like a Dietitians who must be licensed to give nutritional advice. For this reason, the majority of interventions (social support for behavior change via social media) are not effective for improving outcomes such as weight, BMI, or dietary intake.

We each choose what we eat and drink every day. These choices are directly and indirectly influenced, whether we know it or not. Information from some social media influencers lacks credibility. In my experience, influencers tend to oversimplify nutrition and claim food or ingredients are either good or bad (not necessarily true for any said food or ingredient). Even if these claims are debunked, they still confuse readers which lead social media users, friends, and family unsure about what they can or cannot believe! This is a large contributor to the public’s increasing mistrust in nutrition science. I know that nationwide this is happening because articles like the one below have statistical data showing the public’s reluctance to trust nutritional insights.