A new form of social media influencer – the “nutrition expert” – has caused an increase in online misinformation, affecting the eating habits of young adults.
According to a recent MyFitnessPal survey, TikTok-based nutrition advice has been followed by 87% of millennial and Generation Z users, and 67% of these consumers said they implement a nutritional trend from TikTok at least once a week.
Emily Silva, a third-year neuroscience student, said influencers on social media who market themselves as “healthy eaters” have influenced her eating habits. She added that social media affects her nutrition the most when she wants to get in shape.
“It’s definitely tempting to just have a glass of lemon water for breakfast,” Silva said.
Dr. Zhaoping Li, a professor of medicine and division chief of clinical nutrition at UCLA, said social media ignores the dynamic nature of nutrition, as people’s needs change from day to day and do not always resemble the needs of others. She added that people sometimes pretend to be experts when they might not be.
Gabriella Childers, a UCLA sports dietician, said misinformation can spread like “wildfire” on social media.
“Some influencer with a million followers on TikTok may post about that, and then it’s like a cult following,” Childers said. “People will just cling to that claim, and then they’ll run with it without looking into the research.”
Childers said she shares her own nutritional content through her Instagram account. She added that she encourages people to have tangible strategies to reach their own nutritional goals, such as finding a healthy relationship with food, improving fitness and managing body weight.
Childers also said that since becoming a performance dietician, her view of nutrition has changed. While she previously saw it as a tool for weight loss and restriction, she now sees it as a way to fuel. She added that she has seen a direct correlation between eating more nutrient-dense foods and increased athletic performance.
“If you’re not eating enough, you’re not recovering well,” she said.
Childers said her biggest advice for students evaluating nutritional advice on social media is to ask themselves how it will fit into their lifestyle. She added that people should make sure the information they consume is backed by research from registered dieticians – professionals who must have a master’s degree in nutrition.
Mohsin Ali, an instructional design and outreach specialist at UCLA, said he worked with former students and librarians to create a tutorial students can use as an introduction to lateral reading, or evaluating informational sources by comparing them to others and exploring their credibility.
The lateral reading tutorial helps people critically evaluate resources they encounter on the internet, said Ashley Peterson, UCLA’s research and instruction librarian. She added that it is important to evaluate sources because if one person believes a video containing misinformation, they can spread that claim.
“You can also just post a video to TikTok saying, ‘I cut out fiber, and I feel awesome,’ and that spreads,” she said. “It goes beyond the individual internalizing incorrect information about health.”
Peterson also said the business model of social media platforms is based on user engagement and catering content to precisely what individuals want to see – regardless of if the information is factual or not.
“I wouldn’t say they’re designed to promote misinformation, but their design certainly does do that,” she said.
Social media content related to health and nutrition is often paid or in the form of an advertisement, which can influence the validity of their information, Ali said. He added that a clear red flag for information found on social media is if the person advertising it can profit off of your decision to partake.
Daniel Pine, a fourth-year sociology student, said he has a positive view of nutritional information on social media. He added that he finds fitness and nutrition content, which he has implemented into his own life, such as high-protein meal recipes.
“I used to just eat Trader Joe’s microwavable food all the time, but then I started watching Instagrams (on) how to feed yourself, how to cook chicken and steak and make it taste good,” Pine said. “Now I feed myself properly.”
Pine, who is also a resident assistant, said UCLA’s dining services frustrate him as they advocate for eating less red meat and making healthier choices – but then have days where they serve red meat or high-carbon-impact foods.
“They put all the pressure on students to not choose those foods when they will serve it regardless of if students eat them or not,” he said.
Beyond the dining halls, Dr. Wendelin Slusser, associate vice provost for the Semel Healthy Campus Initiative, said she works to build an inclusive culture of health at UCLA. Through the initiative’s efforts, UCLA now has a teaching kitchen, garden, several course offerings and a food studies library students can access for free to learn more about nutrition, she added.
Slusser said food transcends nutrition as it also contributes largely to social and emotional well-being. One of the most important things students can do to improve their nutrition is follow a routine and enjoy their food, she added.
“Sit down and enjoy what you’re eating,” Slusser said. “Enjoy it, and enjoy it with people.”
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