Unqualified Advice and Product Promotions: Analysis of Health and Nutrition Content on Social Media Consumed by Young...

This study investigated the relationship between time spent on social media and eating behaviours among young Australian adults. It also examined the types of content discussed and linguistic styles used by health and nutrition content creators on Instagram.

Young adults (aged 18-30 years) who reported viewing social media for nutrition or health content were recruited to complete a self-administered, cross-sectional survey. Data on demographics, time spent on Instagram and TikTok, health content creators viewed, and responses to the Scale of Effects of Social Media on Eating Behaviours (SESMEB) were collected. Associations between time spent on Instagram and TikTok and SESMEB scores were analysed. Inductive content and thematic analysis were conducted on health-related posts from Instagram accounts viewed by study participants.

From the 57 participants who completed the demographic survey, 42 participants completed the full study including the SESMEB survey. There was no significant association between SESMEB score and time spent on Instagram (p = 0.38) or TikTok (p = 0.40). A total of 1420 Instagram posts from 71 distinct content creators were analysed. Health and fitness product endorsements or advertisements (56.3%), predominantly posted by laypersons (55.3%), were the most common type of post in the sample. The most common communication style was 'expert advice' (47.9%), with 'informal language' (85.9%) as the dominant linguistic style. Results from thematic analysis suggest health and nutrition information on social media is often presented to consumers in emotionally charged, stylised, or contradictory ways and requires users to sift through conflicting messages, aesthetics, and ideologies to construct their own understanding of health.

This study suggests that young adults are primarily exposed to health and fitness product promotions from unqualified content creators on social media. Dietitians and nutrition professionals may need to consider adopting specific linguistic and communication styles to enhance the dissemination and engagement of credible nutrition information online. These findings have implications for improving digital health literacy and strengthening the impact of evidence-based nutrition messaging in digital environments.