How Credible Are Online Fitspiration Accounts?

Lots of fitness influencers have sprouted up especially during Covid-19. They often have photographs and videos showing you how they exercise in the latest fitness fashion attire and accessories. They are also fit-looking, tanned and toned. Popular fitness inspiration hash tags on Instagram include #fitspiration and #fitspo. They appear in more than 100 million posts.

I do not have an Instagram account but if you do, try scrolling through #fitspiration or #fitspo  and you can see lots of thin, athletic women (and men) promoting fitness, exercise and healthy lifestyles.

These 'fitspiration' accounts by health and exercise influencers usually post content to empower other individuals to pursue healthy lifestyles. 

Since so many people look to social media (such as Instagram and TikTok) for information and motivation to exercise, we need to be mindful of the content being presented. How legit are these fitness influencers?

Personally, I feel it is inspiring and easier to get motivated when someone shares his/ her inspirational photos, videos, quotes etc on fitness and health. 

However, research from Adelaide, South Australia (Curtis et al, 2013) found that nearly 66 percent of the top 100 influencers put up dubious fitness information. 25 percent presented hypersexualized content, nudity, as well as potentially harmful or unhealthy content. Some of these influencers also degraded others.

Many of the accounts promoted unrealistic or unhealthy body shapes with a strong focus on ultra fit, lean and slim physiques. This implies that only thin and toned bodies are considered healthy and beautiful.

A lack of reliable, credible health and fitness content on a platform like Instagram which has more than a billion users all over the world is concerning since body image and self esteem are so important.

So much focus on outward appearances can drive unhealthy reasons to exercise and diet, leading to unhealthy body image issues and concerns.

That same study (Curtis et al, 2013) from South Australia developed a reliable audit tool to help identify credible and non credible fitness and health Instagram accounts. Credible fitspiration accounts can help promote correct participation in exercise and fitness activity. 

Looking for some inspiration to exercise? Make sure you screen the influencers that you follow. You can find the evidenced based audit tool at the end of the article.

Reference

Curtis RG, Prichard I, Gosse G et al (2023). Hashtag Fitspiration: Credibility Screening And Content Analysis Of Instagram Fitness Accounts. BMC Public Health. 23,412. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-15232-7

Both Men And Women Equally Unhappy With Their Bodies

Picture by suez92 from Flickr

I do happen to see quite a lot of men and women who are unhappy with their bodies. And lately, some boys and girls too. Previously, I used to treat a lot more women who were unhappy about how their bodies looked so they'll exercise more and get injured in the process. They'll come and see me hoping that I'll make them pain free so they can exercise again.

Their injuries were easy to treat, their mindset much more difficult.

Well, it seems that men are just as likely to be insecure about their looks. I think we're in a cultural shift in terms of the ideal body image. In movies, advertisements and magazines etc, the ideal man is often portrayed and shown to be more muscular than men in the real world.

Don't get me started on the ideal female physique. The fantasy female has a slim hourglass figure with big boobs and a BMI which was in the normal range but close to the underweight category.

A recently published study of 12,716 respondents found that only 28% of men said that they were "extremely satisfied" with their appearance compared to 26% of women.

It is not surprising to note that weight was closely to people's body image. Only 24% of men were extremely satisfied with their weight while 20% women felt extremely satisfied with theirs.

These findings are consistent with the emphasis placed on the importance for being slender for women and appearing athletic and/ or lean for men.

Take note that the subjects had to opt in to take part in the study so this sample size may not be representative of the general population.

And it gets worse for kids. Adolescent boys who were dissatisfied with their body shape were found to be more likely than girls to self criticize and feel distress (Mitchison et al, 2016).

Don't let others tell you how you look affect you. You're stronger than that.


References

Federicks DA,Sandhu G et al (2016). Correlates Of Appearance And Weight Satisfaction In A U.S. National Sample: Personality, Attachment Style, Television Viewing, Self-esteem And Life Satisfaction. Body Image. 17:191-203. DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.04.001.

Mitchison D, Hay P et al (2016). Disentangling Body Image: The Relative Associations of Overvaluation, Dissatisfaction, And Preoccupation With Psychological distress And Eating Disorders In Male And Female Adolescents. Int J Eating Disorders. 50(2): 118-126. DOI: 10.1002.eat.22592.

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