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American, British, and Italian Online Information on the Health Risks Associated With Eating Meat: Cross-Sectional
Gianfranco Di Gennaro1, Francesca Licata1, Paolo Pittore1
1Department of Health Sciences, University of Catanzaro "Magna Græcia", Viale Europa, Catanzaro, 88100, Italy, 39 961 3697289.
JMIR Formative Research
|June 23, 2026
Summary
Online information quality on meat consumption risks varies significantly by country. Italian websites were found to be of lower quality, highlighting a need for improved health information accessibility and user education.
Area of Science:
- Nutrition Science
- Public Health
- Digital Health
Background:
- The quality of online health information significantly influences consumer behavior regarding dietary choices, such as meat consumption.
- Assessing the reliability of web-based information on meat consumption risks is crucial for public health initiatives.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and compare the quality of online information concerning the health risks of meat consumption across Italian, British, and American websites.
- To evaluate the characteristics of websites discussing meat consumption, including authorship, content coverage, and stance.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional analysis of the top 100 websites from Italy, the UK, and the US discussing meat consumption risks.
- Utilized the JAMA benchmarks tool to assess website quality, focusing on professional authorship, recommended meat intake, meat substitutes, and coverage of diet sustainability, cancer, cardiovascular, and chronic diseases.
- Classified websites based on their stance: neutral, promoting, or demonizing meat consumption.
Main Results:
- Significantly higher quality ratings were observed for American (61%) and British (78.1%) websites compared to Italian websites (22.3%).
- Italian websites were less likely to be authored by certified professionals, discuss environmental/chronic disease risks, or adopt a demonizing stance.
- British websites were less likely to promote meat consumption or be authored by qualified professionals, but more likely to mention cancer risks compared to American sites.
Conclusions:
- A notable disparity in online health information quality regarding meat consumption risks exists, particularly with lower quality prevalent in Italian web content.
- Strategies focusing on user education for critical website evaluation and engagement of health professionals are recommended to address the identified gaps in online information quality.
- International collaboration may be necessary to improve the consistency and reliability of digital health information globally.
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