THE INSTA DIET TRAP #Fitspo or #fitsno? You decide
Their hard-boiled bodies and heavily edited feeds are addictive. But how much of what the #fitspo pack recommend is #bullshit?
Chances are, your Instagram feed is liberally peppered with the sculpted bodies of at least half a dozen different fitness bloggers. The five biggest players on the block boast a combined online following of 35 million, while #fitness is currently used on Instagram an average of 12,600 times every hour. But while abs so ripped you could almost mountaineer up them are a sure sign someone’s doing their time in the gym, it’s not necessarily a sign of sound and credible dietary advice.
Why, then, are we all so willing to take it? Simple: it’s called the halo effect – basically transferring one person’s success in one arena to
2,175 posts 12.3k followers 253 following
success in another. It’s the reason people trust celebrities for medical guidance (just look at Gwyneth Paltrow and the success of her lifestyle brand Goop), and why we’re prone to take whatever fitness stars advise as wellness gospel.
The problem is that some health food influencers aren’t actually qualified nutritionists. This means that they may be handing out questionable dietary information and advice, says Marjorie Nolan Cohn, a registered nutritionist and national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Cohn reviewed two popular social stars’ diet plans for Cosmopolitan and wasn’t impressed with either: she found that both were severely lacking in nutrition and calories.
So if you spot any of these dietrelated traps in a ‘guru’s’ posts, here’s our advice: take it with a healthy dose of scepticism…
Lots of fans, no peers
Garnering millions of followers clearly takes work, but it doesn’t equal authority. Figure out whether to trust an influencer by assessing their peers. Who else follows them? Do licensed health professionals like/ comment on/repost their diet dos and don’ts? Support from those in the know can indicate legitimacy. Now, scroll through the comments. Do they engage thoughtfully? Inflated influencers tend to have fights, not debates, says Timothy Caulfield, research director of the University of Alberta Health Law Institute.
Fake friends
With 100 followers available to buy online for as little as 69p, amassing a large enough fan base to be called an influencer can’t be seen as indication of expertise. So how do you spot a faker? If you want to play detective, look out for accounts that have a huge following, but not many posts, that don’t frequently use hashtags, and especially accounts where their posts have very few comments. Too lazy? Twitteraudit.com will do it for you – we checked out three ‘influential’ bloggers and found that thousands of their followers were fakes. Followbots, watch out.
Assumed qualifications
We’re a pretty judgemental lot – and rate meals as healthier when they come from slimmer bloggers, says a study from Cornell University, in which two people of differing weights published the same health advice and respondents reported greater levels of trust in the post from the thinner blogger. But their size has nothing to do with their qualifications. ‘Guru’ and ‘expert’ sound impressive, but don’t say
anything about training. Dietary advice should always come from a registered dietician. If they are, they’ll be listed on Associationfornutrition. org, or have the letters RD (registered dietician) after their name.
Miracle claims
Remember the highprofile case of Belle Gibson (@healing_ belle), who was exposed for making up the cancer that her miracle diet supposedly cured? She’s now being asked to pay a fine (reportedly up to £860,000) to the Australian Federal Court for misleading the public. And there’s plenty more like her out there. “There is no available evidence that diseases like cancer can be cured by dietary means alone,” says Bridget Benelam, senior nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation.“So much so that regulations on the food we buy strictly prohibit any claims they can prevent, cure or treat disease. But unfortunately such misleading claims are still often made online.” Always look for comments from official medical professionals about various health kicks, and be wary of any bloggers who claim to have cured themselves of serious conditions. Remember: no evidence, no follow.
Products! Products! Products!
Some posts are so well-staged that they look casual… but are really sales pitches for products the Instagrammer has been paid to push. Remember the time Scott Disick accidentally published the advertiser’s instructions into the caption for an Instagram post? Posts like these should be tagged #sponsored, #spon, #sponcon and #ad. But even when those hashtags are included, they’re pushed down the post, so that they’re hard to find. Spotted someone just casually holding some hair vitamins or sipping on a juice cleanse? Read the entire caption, and first comments, to see if it’s an ad. Remember, says Cohn, even certified trainers aren’t taught how to vet the safety and efficacy of herbs or supplements. If they’re being paid to promote it, it doesn’t mean they use it themselves or that it’s safe for you to.