Hungry for (Mis)Information: Nutritional Advice Online

There is a wealth of inaccurate nutrition information online.

Reviewed by Lybi Ma

Key points

• There is an increasing amount of inaccurate nutrition information on social media.
• At the same time, more and more youth are using social media as their main source of nutrition information.
• Dietitians and nutritionists suggest that such misinformation can deter healthy eating behaviors.
• Digital literacy is crucial to navigating online nutrition information.

Co-authored by Tia Scazighino

Food content is all over the internet these days. You can’t spend five minutes on social media without getting bombarded with fast food ads, cooking tutorials, diet culture, or the dreaded mukbang.

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of nutrition and health influencers who share their opinions about the latest diet hacks and nutrition trends. With this boom in food content, research shows that more and more youth are using social media as their main source of nutrition information.

Where’s the danger in this? Well, the poor regulation of social media makes the reliability of nutritional advice questionable at best. Many online health and wellness “gurus” don’t have adequate professional training. Because their content is monetized, their main goal is to attract as many followers as possible, regardless of the accuracy of the content they share.

Emily Denniss and colleagues examined the accuracy of 47 Australian nutrition influencer profiles and estimated that of 676 posts, 34.8 percent were classified as poor scientific quality, 59.2 percent as mediocre, 6.1 percent as good, and no posts were of excellent scientific quality. About 44.7 percent of the posts contained inaccuracies. Concerningly, engagement appeared to be higher for posts of lower quality. Denniss also carried out a systematic review of 64 studies comparing online nutrition information to national dietary guidelines to determine the accuracy of its claims. About 48.8 percent of the studies found that the nutrition claims had little to no scientific evidence to support them. Poor quality classifications were much higher for studies evaluating information about weight loss (100 percent poor quality) and supplements (75 percent poor quality).

Registered dietitians and public health nutritionists are starting to become increasingly concerned with the potential negative consequences of nutritional misinformation, suggesting that advice promoting thinness, weight loss, or extreme muscle gain can cause harm and deter healthy eating behaviors, or even worse, lead to disordered eating that is a central risk factor for developing full-blown eating disorders.

How can we protect ourselves online? Developing digital literacy skills is the key to empowering ourselves to understand and navigate the digital landscape. We’ve compiled a few red flags to watch for when critically questioning the validity of the claims we see on social media:

1. If the claim is based on personal experience or opinion: Personal observations in science are known as anecdotal evidence and are considered the lowest quality of scientific evidence because they yield biased conclusions. Just because a particular diet worked for someone, doesn’t mean it will work for everyone.
2. If the claim has to do with purchasing a certain product: Posts that endorse a particular product may exaggerate its benefits to increase sales.
3. If they don’t reference credible sources or scientific evidence: Remember that the lack of regulation or criteria for publishing on social media means that people can pretty much say anything, regardless of its accuracy.
4. If the claim comes off as extreme: Claims that a particular food or diet is 100 percent wrong, toxic, or terrible for you are likely inaccurate and can be very damaging, encouraging people to become incredibly fearful or controlling over what they can and cannot eat.
5. If the person making the claim has no nutritional, scientific, or dietary qualifications: Check if the account publishing the information has any credentials. Is the person a registered dietitian or nutritionist?
6. If the person claims a “quick fix” or “fast results”: Some of the diet supplements that have become popular in recent years that promise rapid weight loss or “rocket fuel” for building lean muscle mass contain powerful stimulants such ephedrine, taurine, and others, which can be dangerous, especially in those with underlying conditions.

On top of building your digital literacy, we also recommend speaking to a physician or dietician when seeking nutritional advice so the advice can be personalized to your goals and food preferences before embarking on a significant dietary lifestyle change. These consultations will also help you to become informed of the risks and benefits of dietary changes.

This post was co-authored by Tia Scazighino, BA.