Dangers of Influencer
Marketing:
Although Influencer Marketing is very
popular, it is very harmful. Found by the
influencer platform MuseFind, “92 percent
of consumers trust an influencer more than
an advertisement or traditional celebrity
endorsement.” Yet Influencers suggest that
to be “healthy” you have to watch
everything you eat and be disciplined.
an ideal body type, one which is unrealistic.
Promotion of dietary supplements:
fixes include fat-burning drinks and 0 calorie
Influencers promote the idea that teens
need a certain supplement to increase their
muscle mass and ultimately be healthier,
even though they aren’t normally
recommended for teens.
means you can spend your whole life thinking
A study done by Alison Field, S. Bryn
Austin and Carlos Camargo found that,
“Girls who were making a lot of effort to
look like same-gender figures in the media
were 3 times more likely than their peers to
use products to build muscle or improve
appearance.”
Promotion of harmful fitness apps:
On top of the promotion of dietary
supplements, these influencers are
promoting the use of harmful fitness apps.
A study done on the myfitnesspal app
found that although the use of the app
started off with the right intentions, people
began to become obsessed with everything
they put in their mouth. Ultimately, it
caused many to only see food for it’s
calories instead of it’s nutritional value.
Social Media is unrealistic.
Social Media has created a breeding ground How Social Media
for society to become so focused on Diet
Culture. This only grows worse with the Affects Teen Girls
amount of content about it that teens see on
social media, with more than 70% of teens
visiting at least one social media platform each
Eating Habits
day.
Diet culture is also associated with this idea of
Many teens look for quick fixes to lose weight
to achieve this ideal body, some of the quick
foods.
According to the authors of the book Intuitive
Eating, “Diet culture worships thinness and
equates it to health and moral virtue, which
you’re irreparably broken just because you
don’t look like the impossibly thin “ideal.”
This causes teens to believe that they can only
be “healthy” if they follow diet culture’s rules.
There’s no wonder that there are such huge
effects like body dissatisfaction, eating
disorders and social anxiety around talking
By: Jordyn Nies (high school intern)
about food.
Under Supervision from Dietitian
Susannah Wallenstrom
Sources: National Institute of Health, Seoul
National University Hospital, Korea, King’s
College London, Manchester Metropolitan
University, Penn State, Northwestern
University, Brown University School of Public
Health, Massachusetts General Hospital,
Boston University, Intuitive Eating: A
Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach by Evelyn
Tribole and Elyse Resch.
Teens Views of Social Media:
disorder or unhealthy eating habits consult a
Some online resources include:
to-diet-talk/
National Eating Disorder Hotline: (800) 931-2237
collagen. On top of that, diets such as the Keto
Call Hours: Monday—Thursday 11am—9pm ET.
Diet which is based upon replacing carbs with
Friday 11am—5pm ET.
Text Hours: Monday—Thursday 3pm—6pm ET.
Friday 1pm—5pm ET.
Development of unhealthy
eating habits:
There are so many reasons as to why teens
develop eating disorders. They could appear
because of peer pressure, cultural pressure or
emotional health.
There are so many different types of eatings
disorders which include binge eating disorder,
orthorexia, anorexia and more. In most cases
Social Media either exacerbates them or creates
them. A study done showed that out of 996
seventh- and eighth-graders, age 13 on average,
about their use of social media platforms and
disordered eating behaviors, 75% of girls had at
least one social media account, and 52% of girls
reported at least one disordered eating behavior.
Development of unhealthy eating habits
can lead to nutrient deficiencies
Unhealthy eating habits, (like skipping meals) can
cause teens to lose out on getting nutrients they
need to function at their best like calcium and
education and advice.
protein is also harmful because too much protein
can put strain on the liver and kidneys and risk it
be converted into fat.
Resources(who to follow
and how to avoid diet talk):
If you know anyone struggling with an eating
dietitian or someone who specializes in eating
disorders. There are also plenty of people on
social media to follow who are great body-
positive and anti-diet promoters. Some include
@veggiesandchocolate, @jessicathesportsrd,
@collegenutritionist and @constancelyeating.
Some other good resources include Jill Castle
who is a childhood nutrition expert or Ellyn
Satter.
Alissa Rumsey’s blog on how to respond to diet
talk: https://alissarumsey.com/how-to-respond-
https://christyharrison.com/foodpsych —>
Christy Harrison is a registered dietitian who
has a podcast where she offers nutrition
https://www.eatright.org/ —> Academy of
Nutrition and Dietetics. They have education
and advice on health, fitness and food.