Take It With A Pinch Of Salt
A Journalistic Study into The Correlation Between Social Media and Modern Society's Perspective of Nutrition
Imagine this...
You are a university student living alone, you care about your health, and you are well-versed in social media lingo. You try your best to balance a healthy diet, physical movement, and the stressors of everyday life. Social media is your go-to solution for advice on what you care about, including your health and diet.
Do you trust everything you see?
Or do you take what you see with a pinch of salt?
This piece of journalism takes a deep dive into how social media is changing the nutrition and dietetics scene in Australia. In this piece, you’ll hear from experts in nutrition, Accredited Practicing Dieticians (APD), an aspiring nutrition student, and everyday individuals about their perspective on nutrition and social media.
With a background in public health nutrition, Evangeline Gardiner, more affectionately know as Evie, is highly interested in improving people’s relationships and behaviour around food at a population level without shaming their appearance and consumption habits.
A PhD candidate at the University of Queensland and an individual with a “history of disordered eating and living in a larger body”, Evie shared that social media had played a big part in shaping her perspective of nutrition when she was in the depths of her experience with eating disorders.
Apart from vulnerable individuals struggling with body image issues, Gail Lam, a mother of two who cooks frequently and enjoys staying active, is part of the target audience for a wide range of health-related content on social media.
When asked about whether she has ever followed any online trends, Gail shares that she had attempted the intermittent fasting diet awhile ago. She concedes having seen some results (“losing a couple of kilograms”) early on, but eventually stopped the diet when she realised it was not sustainable for her lifestyle.
This is just one of many moments where Gail has tested out nutritional advice from the internet.
The rise of social media and its growing influence on society does not spare the human body. There are many niche nutrition accounts on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram without proper credentials.
This means that social media users are relying on advice that is coming from people who are not qualified professionals.
Nutrition experts from the University of Queensland (UQ) weigh in on this issue.
Lauren Pearson, who is an APD and Credentialed Eating Disorder Clinician (CEDC), says that social media has made society’s access to information about nutrition boundless.
“Access to more nutrition information might potentially prevent someone from becoming iron deficient because they learn about the impact of iron in our body. They might be learning food and cooking skills on how to increase dietary iron and that’s fantastic,”
However, Evie, who is a PhD candidate at UQ, warns that individuals who get their nutritional information from content creators who are not qualified experts risk adopting relationships with food and behaviours around eating that are not supported by scientific research.
Pearl Wong, an APD and academic at UQ who holds a Master in Dietetics Studies, shares that social media’s ability to manipulate their content to appeal to the public more regardless of their accuracy can be powerful in shaping health beliefs and behaviours.
"Social media posts spreading misinformation may lead some people to distrust or reject that science, despite the evidence.”
When academics and researchers struggle to counter the speed at which social media challenges science, real life experiences fill in the gaps.
Ben Parker and Kayla Beamish, APDs for the Gold Coast Football Club, also known as the Gold Coast Suns, often encounter situations where their clients and elite athletes bring information from the internet into their sessions.
Ben Parker (left) and Kayla Beamish (right) are foodies hoping to help others love food as much as they do. (Source: Ashley Tan)
When individuals with significant influence share about quick fixes, Ben says their solutions are often marketed as a powerful singular thing that resolves all of the audience’s health problems.
Yet, the truth is that small, sustainable changes to our diets work in the long time and dieticians like Ben have a hard time marketing the truth because it’s hardly “sexy or new”.
The duo share that they are always working with their clients cultivate healthy and long lasting relationships with food so that they are able to make sustainable and stress-free food choices.
Since Ben and Kayla have been in the nutrition and dietetics field for awhile, they have learnt to adapt to the changing landscape. Their ongoing practice allows them to change their professional practices to optimise their impact on their clients.
Yet, for aspiring dieticians, they will have to anticipate how the industry may change and prepare themselves before they step into the real world.
For Euan, an 18-year-old health science student at Griffith University, he has to juggle the responsibilities of the role he will be stepping into in the future and the impact of social media on the dietetics field.
Yet, Euan believes social media can also be used as a tool to aid him in his role as a dietician in future. Social media gives him access to a broad range of perspectives, which he can then research on to form his own professional judgement.
Science is a neverending search for answers, and social media is here to stay. It is important for the two to work together to protect the future nutrition and dietetics.
For aspiring dieticians like Euan, he hopes dieticians continue to remain trustworthy in the eyes of society regardless of the significance of social media’s influence.
For active APDs like Ben and Kayla, they hope that the social media space for positive dietician influences will continue to grow and that people keep in mind that nutrition is not tough or scary with the right guidance.
For researchers like Evie, Lauren, and Pearl, they hope that mass education via evidence-based information is prioritised and media literacy is cultivated amongst the general public so that they do not fall prey to misinformation.
Before serving a dish, it is important to double check that it is properly prepared.
This theory applies to consuming information about health.
Here are some tips from the APDs and experts on safeguarding your health.
Photo by Kyle Johnson on Unsplash
Photo by Kyle Johnson on Unsplash
Stay curious but critical.
Wanting to learn more about our bodies and how we can feed ourselves better is always a good idea, but we have to be vigilant against harmful trends and advice that may not be backed by science.
Photo by Deon Black on Unsplash
Photo by Deon Black on Unsplash
Nutrition advice is never a one-size-fits-all solution.
Kayla reminds us that nutrition is personalised and if there's an underlying issue that a healthy diet cannot resolve, someone promoting a one-size-fits-all solution probably isn't the right advice.
Photo by Júnior Ferreira on Unsplash
Photo by Júnior Ferreira on Unsplash
Be cautious about anything promising a quick fix.
Ben and Kayla warn that “you can probably get results in the short term but it might not be sustainable long-term” and “it can be harmful if we isolate food groups and take away from eating a balanced diet”.
Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
When in doubt, seek professional advice
Lauren reminds us to consider if any social media post promoting health-related content wants us to buy into an image, product, or business. Pearl says, "Your wellbeing deserves more than a trending reel or a viral post."
At the end of the day, Evie would like to remind us,
“Life is short. We’re only human and I would much rather people live their life looking for joy.”
Now, when you chance upon or look up information related to health and what goes into your body, will you think twice about consuming the information?
