If symptoms persist see your … influencer?
You wouldn’t seek legal advice from an electrician, nor would you seek dental advice from a school principal…so why do people seek nutrition advice from unqualified influencers? Our Registered Dietitian Katrina Shepherd takes a look at the rise of influencers, the danger they pose and what you can do about it.
Once upon a time, people used to train in a specialised field to do certain jobs. If you wanted to become a builder you would do a trade, if you wanted to become a nurse you would go to nursing school, if you wanted to become a police officer you would go to police college and so on. Sound familiar? Yes, it probably does, because for most people this is still the general path of getting into the workforce. You either do a very in-depth and comprehensive induction training or official, accredited institutional training. Either way, you gain experience to deliver a certain job.
Along with hundreds of Registered Dietitians and Nutritionists, I too thought I was one of those people who were on the simple road to training in a specialised field to do a certain job: Giving qualified, evidence-based nutrition advice. However, in the era of social media, it seems that credentials are out (credentials that may have taken 5 years to get) and celeb-status and influence is in, and it appears that anyone who has ever experienced bloating, low mood, weight gain, weight loss, an upset stomach, cravings, tiredness or any type of symptom, that could be food-related, is now warranted a platform to “share their story” on how they fixed it. That’s right, I’m talking about influencers preaching about nutrition.
Now, not all influencers are bad. Some are nutritionally qualified (with the right credentials) and genuinely just enjoy sharing their lives online. However, there are thousands, if not millions of unqualified influencers who give one-size-fits-all advice to very serious nutritional and clinical issues – and 99% of the time it’s for monetary gain. Influencers have an enormous amount of purchase power over regular people because they are trusted. They grow their audiences because people think “they are just like me” or “they are someone I want to be like”. Due to these mentalities our society endorses these complete stranger’s behaviour by liking, subscribing, commenting and sharing their content.
Imagine an influencer telling you “I’m not an optometrist but I got these new prescription glasses and they are amazing because I can see perfectly now”. You would probably laugh and think “one pair of glasses won’t suit everyone’s eyesight. Also you’re not an optometrist…you’re just a celeb” and that would be the end of you ever listening to that person again. Unfortunately, in my profession this is not the case. In my profession you literally see people buy that exact type of prescription glasses in the masses, until it’s out of stock. People rave about the glasses to their friends and at work, they buy the glasses in different colours, they buy books about the glasses and join seminars or private groups about the glasses and even if the glasses don’t work for them they keep wearing them because “it’s apparently really good for you”. In my profession these “glasses” are nutritional products or services that influencers push for monetary gain, such as supplements, shakes, powders, diet plans, books, e-books, seminars and more. So, let’s take a look at how you can sort the sh*t from the clay when it comes to influencer’s talking about nutrition:
Red flags
If it doesn’t look like food you probably don’t need it. Whether it’s skinny tea, vitamin gummies, meal replacement shakes, or any other man-made “health” product, thousands of influencers making mega bucks selling these products. Unless you have been instructed by your health care professional or Registered Dietitian to take a supplement you don’t need to! The blueprint of basic, nutrition-related health is not complicated: Eat a balanced diet, drink enough water, be active, get enough sunshine and get enough sleep. Plus, not all supplements can be adequately absorbed, so in some instances you’re essentially paying for very expensive urine.
Diet language. Anything that requires you to restrict food, cut food groups out, swap real food for supplements or only eat between certain hours, is more or less a diet (sorry to break it to you). Health professionals have shown that dieting can be a vicious cycle. For some, when they restrict food they feel deprived and crave it. This can lead to binge eating, which can lead to enormous amounts of guilt, which then makes people restrict food all over again. Dieting can not only mess up your metabolism, but it can damage your relationship with food and with your body and can leave you in a worse place than where you began – so don’t buy into diet culture!
“I’m no expert but…” If an influencer is not an expert, they shouldn’t be providing advice that is perceived to be expertise, especially if it is nutrition or health related. Be very wary of this and before taking the advice, seek professional advice from a doctor, Registered Dietitian or Registered Nutritionist.
“It worked for me…” Just because something worked for the influencer, doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for everyone. Think back to the glasses example, one pair of prescription glasses won’t work for everyone, so why would a nutritional product or service work the same for everyone? When it comes to health, your genetics and long-term lifestyle and diet play the largest role in nutrition-related health, not a singular product taken for one week straight.
#Sponsored or #AD. This is an instant red flag. These hashtags or pop-ups that come up mean the influencer is being paid by a brand to promote the nutritional good or service, irrespective of whether they know anything about the nutritional risks of it. Often they are reading off a script or are asked to use a written script in the caption of the photo or video. That chatty dialogue is often written by marketing teams, not the influencer themselves, so be wary.
Use code XYZ to receive money off! Another indicator that the influencer is being paid to promote said product or service. This is often used by brands to track and see how many people have purchased from the influencer. Very sneaky!
Things you can do
Check the credentials of the influencer. When it comes to nutrition the most qualified professionals, who have an evidence-based nutrition background are Registered Dietitians (NZRDs) and Registered Nutritionists. These are protected terms and people with these credentials have studied for 3-5 years at accredited institutions and are held accountable by a Code of Conduct mandated by boards and societies. General practitioners (GP’s), should also be made aware of any diet or lifestyle changes and may offer additional advice. It’s important to note that just because someone has “Dr.” in front of their name, does not necessarily make them a medical doctor or an expert in all areas, so be sure to check their credentials. For more information on Registered Dietitians click here and for more information on Registered Nutritionists click here.
Report harmful content. The more times a post gets reported the more likely it is to get taken down by the social media platform. Reporting a post can be done on social media platforms and is as easy as a few clicks. In addition to reporting, don’t hesitate to write a complaint to the brand or influencer, as well as report it to the Advertising Standards Authority. It can also pay to share it to your friends online so they are aware of the misleading information from said influencer.
Be a savvy consumer. Be selective about who you follow and the type of media you are consuming. If an influencer’s content isn’t adding any value to your life, or worse – if they are making you feel bad about your life, get rid of them with a simple click! You don’t need that kind of negativity constantly bombarding you. Likewise, if you can detect that they are not nutrition experts (but are trying to give nutrition advice) give them the flick.
Finally, your health shouldn’t be sacrificed for a 10% product commission; it is far too valuable to be manipulated by wreckless marketing. If you want to make diet or lifestyle changes, you deserve to receive qualified, tailored advice that is specific to your needs – and not the needs of 100K+ followers. You wouldn’t trust an influencer to tell you what type of prescription glasses to wear, so why should you trust them telling you what foods to eat?
If you are looking for you can find a list of Registered Dietitians here and Registered Nutritionists here. Some of them also have amazing social media pages where they share evidenced-based information for free. Just search “Dietitian” or “Registered Nutritionist” into Instagram or Facebook and see the long list of pages available.