Social media provides widespread access to nutritional information from varying sources – not all of which is explicitly backed by data.
With social media platforms allowing content to reach broad audiences, nutrition advice of all kinds drifts through explore pages and algorithms. Some experts have voiced concern over the veracity of online guidance, in light of its potential extensive influence.
Creators on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook share weight loss tips, exercise and diet advice and supplement recommendations.
This abundance of dietary instruction can be difficult to navigate, said Dr. Michael Garcia, an assistant professor of medicine in UCLA Health’s Division of Clinical Nutrition.
“There’s the whole social media side, which gives us snippets of information plus or minus a source,” Garcia said.
A 2024 study by Harvard researchers found that 97% of sampled TikTok videos addressing weight-loss, muscle-building and detox supplements did not substantiate their claims with scientific evidence.
However, Dr. Jason Fung, a nephrologist and popular YouTube creator, said that in recent years, some social media users dismiss scientifically backed ideas about health as “misinformation,” which limits the spread of helpful content.
“Anybody who says stuff like that just reveals their own insecurities and their own lack of knowledge of how science actually works,” Fung said.
Fung, whose YouTube channel has amassed almost 1.4 million subscribers, said he started posting online to spread health and weight loss advice that deviated from the popular caloric deficit model. His approach focuses on the role of hormones in one’s weight.
Videos posted to his channel include guides for fasting to manage conditions including Type 2 diabetes and kidney disease. Fung also offers explanations of how consuming different kinds of carbohydrates may impact weight loss.
Bringing nutrition advice to the online sphere can inspire criticism, Fung said. Video commentaries by other creators, including one posted to YouTube titled “Why I Disagree With Jason Fung,” offer dueling perspectives on his ideas.
“There’s a lot of people who are trying to get notoriety on my back,” Fung said. “So they’ll attack me very vociferously because they want to make themselves more popular.”
Scrutiny of some content creators may come from public officials.
The government targets influencers who fail to disclose sponsorships or advertisements in their content, as the Federal Trade Commission endorsement guides prohibit incentivized or deceptive reviews.
In November 2023, the FTC sent two trade associations and 12 online health influencers warning letters for failing to disclose they were paid by businesses to support the safety of aspartame and other sugar-containing products.
This kind of influencer-driven marketing – where companies work directly with online creators – has proved lucrative for the vitamin and mineral supplement market, which was valued at approximately $23.29 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach $31.84 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research.
The Associated Press reported that Dr. Casey Means, President Donald Trump’s pick for United States surgeon general, used affiliate links – sometimes without disclosing them as such – to make money from her online following. Means’ personal website included links to purchase items like an AI-powered sleep assistant, hair care and supplements, some of which she had business relationships with and personally profited from.
Supplements promoted online also might be unnecessary, Garcia said. He added that more research is needed into many marketed compounds before their effects can be characterized.
“The goal with advertising is to hook someone and almost make them feel like they need it,” Garcia said. “So especially with these vitamin supplements, which are not always regulated in the same way as even food, just be careful if you’re not sure if you might need it – research a little bit, speak with a medical professional.”
The Food and Drug Administration does not have the authority to approve dietary supplements before they are marketed under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, according to the agency’s website. This law aimed to improve consumer access to compounds benefiting health and support the growing supplement industry, which was deemed integral to the U.S. economy by Congress.
The Make America Healthy Again movement, spearheaded by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has also brought health and wellness to the forefront of politics.
Trump signed an executive order in February asking the HHS to release a report on childhood chronic disease and threats posed by common food ingredients. The published document, called “The MAHA Report,” cited seed oils, food colorings and ultraprocessed foods as potential contributors to the rising incidence of childhood chronic disease in the U.S.
Theories about hazards posed by certain ingredients have begun influencing consumer discourse, coinciding with the arrival of new seed oil-free products on grocery store shelves. Restaurant chains like Sweetgreen and True Food Kitchen have eliminated seed oil usage and switched to alternatives like olive oil and avocado oil to meet new demand.
Despite groups like the American Heart Association and Mayo Clinic pointing to potential benefits of seed oil usage, over one quarter of the Americans participating in an International Food Information Council survey reported they avoid products containing seed oils when grocery shopping.
This is damaging because making overgeneralizations about any group of ingredients ignores individual health needs and contexts, said Dr. Zhaoping Li, a professor of medicine and chief of UCLA Health’s Division of Clinical Nutrition. She added that ingredients and dietary patterns can affect people differently.
Li said her research team is currently working to incorporate groups traditionally left out of nutrition studies into new work on metabolism. Most existing studies focus on middle-class white populations, creating the need to include ethnic minorities in future work, she added.
Nutritional needs differ from person to person depending on genetic and environmental factors, Garcia said, adding that dietary approaches are best when tailored to suit individual needs.
“There are all of these different variables – sleep, stress, environment, work, family, genetics – all to say that one thing doesn’t work for everyone,” he said.
Collaboration between consumers, researchers and medical professionals is needed to advance accurate health information, free of financial ties to nutrition marketers, Li said. She added that current studies conducted by the Division of Clinical Nutrition focus on the impact of consuming certain foods – such as pecans and mangoes – on variables like skin health and memory.
Research on foods rather than individual supplements is useful, as humans do not eat only one nutrient at a time, Li added.
“This is the very time physicians need to team up with dietitians and nutrition scientists to be more involved, and meanwhile, we encourage consumers to come to the source,” she said. “UCLA, as a premier academic institution, can play a major role in this.”
