Advertisement
Wellness
LifestyleHealth & Wellness

The risks and benefits of diet trends on Instagram and TikTok, as explained by an expert

  • Many people look to social media platforms for ideas and inspiration, especially when it comes to health and nutrition
  • Not all diet trends promoted by social media influencers are nutritionally sound, and some are outright harmful, says an expert

Reading Time:5 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
1
Social media is rife with influencers peddling their ideas on how to stay slim. Photo: Shutterstock
Sasha Gonzales

Social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok are full of content promoting diet trends, and it’s easy to find posts that promise to help you lose weight and get healthier.

But there’s a negative side to this phenomenon, with content creators – who aren’t always qualified to give health advice – touting calorie-restrictive diets and “miracle” products like detox teas and supplements. Besides promoting unrealistic body ideals, such content is associated with other problems, such as nutritional deficiencies and mental health issues.

It can also increase the risk of users of these social media developing an eating disorder. One study found that higher Instagram use was associated with a greater prevalence of orthorexia symptoms (orthorexia is an obsession with eating healthy food).

The researchers conducted a survey of social media users who followed health food accounts, assessing their social media use, eating behaviours and orthorexia symptoms. The results were published in 2017 in the journal Eating and Weight Disorders.

An obsession with “clean eating” can lead to serious eating disorders. Photo: Shutterstock
An obsession with “clean eating” can lead to serious eating disorders. Photo: Shutterstock
Another study, which focused on young adults in the United States, found a link between social media use and eating concerns. The research appeared in 2016 in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

“You shouldn’t blindly follow diet trends or eat a certain way just because someone else is,” says Cyrus Luk, a dietitian at Matilda International Hospital and an executive committee member of the Hong Kong Dietitian Association.

Advertisement