KINGSTON, RI — May 4, 2023 — Social media has an unavoidable influence on our daily lives, especially among college-aged students, and is an important, but not always accurate, source of information on virtually every topic imaginable . This includes information focused on health, exercise and nutrition, which can be particularly harmful, especially for younger people, as a URI Nutrition student study recently highlighted.
Although the virtual communities created by social media can serve to connect people like never before, they too often risk dividing and ostracizing people, harming their self-esteem and making them feel less than the posters themselves. saying glamor they follow. Although research highlights the negative impact of social media on self-esteem and self-love, there is a gap in examining the intersection of social media and eating choices, patterns, and habits among students, according to Emma Cotter, a first-year general nutrition student. .
“Much of what is on social media is not supported by research, but either way, many people are influenced by it and make decisions to add foods or remove certain foods. foods,” Cotter said. “There are a lot of posts about ‘What I eat in a day’ that don’t even match what people should eat. Additionally, many beverages and marketed products may be marketed without proper information. There are many influencers without any training in nutrition who work with companies to promote products without understanding the effect of promoting those products.
Cotter set out to determine the impact of nutrition-related social media posts on students. She surveyed 100 fellow first-year nutrition students about their use of social media, specifically how posts about food, nutrition and exercise affect them. She found that “sport,” “nutrition” and “fitness” were among the most frequently searched topics by respondents on social media. More than 70% said they regularly see nutrition-related topics in their news feed, listen to “food swap” tips, and watch videos like “What I Eat in a Day” posted by “influencers” who may or may not have any knowledge of what they eat. are promoting.
“They can be more influential because they have many followers,” Cotter said of social media celebrities who are often paid to provide advice and suggestions to their followers. “There are many fitness trends that match nutritional trends: ‘Eat this to look like this’ or ‘Don’t eat this to look like this.’ This can be detrimental to people who lack nutritional knowledge. It is dangerous physically and mentally. There is a lot of shame and guilt around food and our food choices.
Even messages that may appear to provide positive advice on the surface, such as “swap messages” that recommend alternatives to satisfy that sweet tooth, can be physically and mentally damaging, according to Amanda Missimer, clinical assistant professor of nutrition and science. food, who supervises Cotter in his office. The same goes for fad diets like Paleo or Keto, which may appear to have positive effects, but could be depriving your body of essential nutrients.
“There is no one-size-fits-all eating pattern, sorry to point out. You can’t compare what someone else needs and eats every day to what you need to eat every day,” Missimer said. “Fad diets are being advertised at an alarming rate. Every other week we eat something new, we cut something, we follow something crazy. Posts related to these topics can be dangerous because they make people feel like they need to replicate exactly what that person does to get the same results, which is simply not true.
The pressure of following nutrition influencers on social media can lead to mental distress and associated feelings of guilt that can arise from not maintaining such a strict diet, Cotter said. And these feelings don’t go away immediately. Cotter’s study determined that 58% of respondents “often” or “sometimes” remember a nutrition-themed article throughout the day, and more than half find themselves comparing their diets food to that of the influencers they follow. About half said they added or subtracted foods from their diet specifically because of a social media post, and 48% reported feeling judged or criticized about their food choices.
“They might think, ‘I don’t look like this because I don’t eat that,’ or maybe ‘I don’t feel well because I chose a bag of chips today,'” said Cotter. “It is sometimes difficult to admit that someone else is influencing you, and individuals may be unaware that the choices they make are not always their own. »
Being aware of the food choices you make can be intimidating, but remember that all foods, even candy and chips, have their place in a healthy diet, Missimer said.
The ubiquity of social media is such that even students with a background in nutrition can be influenced by people who know less about the subject than they do.
“Unfortunately, what we say in class doesn’t always constitute sexy information,” Missimer said. “What’s sexy about eating fruits, vegetables and whole grains? Nothing. Now, if I go on social media and start rambling about these alternative “Pringle health equivalents” I’ve found, people will listen. Few people want to hear that fruits and vegetables are healthy. They want change now, and it’s the quick fixes that are dangerous.”
Those without specific knowledge may be even more susceptible. Cotter recommends that social media users – and internet users in general – carefully examine the sources of their information, leaning more toward websites with the .edu or .org suffixes which tend to be more credible than many .com or that first hit on Google. Review the credentials of the people speaking and look for a registered dietitian degree, as these professionals are skilled at translating scientific nutrition recommendations to individuals and the general public. Be aware of warning signs when it comes to nutrition, like recommendations to “cut out that” or rules like “only eat this.”
“The study shows that there is a clear link between social media and people’s diet and nutritional choices,” Cotter said. “Even among people who actively think about nutrition on a daily basis, we found that social media still affects them. It’s important to be aware of your screen time and always analyze what you see or read. It’s difficult to eliminate completely, but you want to limit your exposure to harmful educators. Be more critical of your usage and what you track.
Emma Cotter is a first-year dietetics student in the Department of Nutrition and completed the survey as a member of a team in a Nutrition Field Experience experiential learning course. Missimer is a clinical assistant professor in the department and oversees trusted student-created nutrition communications on the URI Nutrition social media channels @urinutrition and @rhyodysportsnutrition.
