Dieting? Avoid web tips

IF you’re slimming, there’s a wealth of diet advice on social media – but much of it is potentially harmful, experts warn.

Just one in nine of the most popular British bloggers making weight-loss claims gave accurate and trustworthy information, a study found.

Glasgow University examined whether health and diet claims made by so-called influencers were transparent, evidencebased and nutritionally sound. Lead author Christina Sabbagh said: ‘The majority... presented opinion as fact and failed to meet UK nutritional criteria. This is potentially harmful, as these blogs reach a wide audience.’

A selection of bloggers who had more than 80,000 followers on at least one social media site were scored against 12 criteria to show credibility.

None of their recipes met official calorie targets and traffic light criteria.

Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said: ‘Publishing junk advice is indefensible.’