BETWEEN FACTS AND FILTERS
Fitness influencers do more harm than good for their followers
On social media, "fitfluencers" post all about sports and fitness, but many of their tips are misleading at best, a study shows. How do you find trustworthy accounts?
Magdalena Pötsch
June 1, 2023, 06:00
If you're looking for fitness inspiration - or "fitspiration," as it's shortened to on social media - you're guaranteed to find it on Instagram. At least in theory: Well over 19 million posts have been shared so far with the hashtag #fitspiration. There are before-and-after pictures lined up with infopostings with tips for the next workout and videos on how to perform squats. Especially during the pandemic, when many people were working out from home, such content boomed.
Slimming craze disguised as fitness
Behind these postings are some 50,000 fitness influencers - also shortened to so-called fitfluencers. Only a few of them actually share scientifically based tips. Almost two-thirds, on the other hand, disseminate advice that is misleading at best, or even dangerous for their followers at worst. That's the finding of a new study in which researchers scrutinized the content of the 100 most popular Fitfluencers. Often, their advice has a negative impact on the mental and physical health of those who follow them, the authors of the study write. Too often, sports would be advertised on such accounts as a means of losing weight, or questionable products such as dietary supplements would be promoted for weight loss. In doing so, they fuel beauty norms that no longer have anything to do with health.
Saye Vedrilla is not surprised by this conclusion. She is a personal trainer, mental coach and owner of Sayyes Women's Gym, a personalized fitness studio for women in Vienna's third district. Vedrilla has known the online fitness industry for many years and finds it "really dangerous" what partly happens on Instagram, YouTube & Co, she tells STANDARD. "Of course, there are many who do a good job, but often fitness influencers have no qualifications in the field. They are neither trained nutritionists nor personal trainers, but present themselves as experts," she criticizes.
"Influencers work out and eat differently than they pretend to".
Many of the accounts studied also featured posts in which bodies were sexualized and unhealthy and, above all, unrealistic body shapes were promoted. Vedrilla has also observed this for some time. "Some female influencers play to their followers. They work out and eat very differently than they pretend to," she is convinced. As an expert, she recognizes that the body image of some influencers is not achievable with the workout regimen they sell to their followers. In simplified terms, this means that influencers themselves would, for example, "secretly" work out regularly with weights, but fool followers into thinking they are only doing short workouts with their own body weight. "Through this training program, however, you will never be able to look like the influencer herself," Vedrilla emphasizes. As a result, many throw in the towel because the successes fail to materialize. "They then think they don't have enough bite, but it's simply unrealistic." This effect can also be proven in studies: #fitspiration depresses many so much that they turn their backs on sports.
For laypeople, it's often difficult to distinguish between accounts that are beneficial to health and those that are potentially harmful. For a mindful approach to fitness accounts, you should always ask yourself these three crucial questions, advises Saye Vedrilla:
1. Does the person behind the account have appropriate qualifications?
The number of followers or likes is not an indicator of the quality of the work. Vedrilla therefore advises researching whether the people behind the account have education and professional experience in fitness and sports behind them. If influencers also give advice outside their area of expertise, you should be wary.
But you shouldn't rely solely on the expertise of fitfluencers anyway, says Vedrilla. Although some share really good content, the tips and tricks never apply to everyone. That's why she recommends that newcomers in particular hire a qualified trainer for their first few exercise sessions to build up an individual workout routine. There are many things you can do wrong, even with supposedly simple exercises: "If, for example, you always do squats incorrectly over many years, it can damage your health in the long run.
2. Is it about a holistic healthy lifestyle or the supposed optimization of a body part?
Beauty standards are constantly changing, and body shapes often become a trend. "Right now, for example, a tight butt is the focus for many, with entire accounts revolving around just the perfect workout for that supposedly perfect butt," says Vedrilla. When there's so much focus on one body part, you should become skeptical, she thinks. Fitness accounts should be about a holistic healthy lifestyle, not the reflection. "The goal has to be to live a healthy life in the long run, not the six-pack or the big butt."
3. What feeling does the account convey?
If you feel uncomfortable scrolling through the posts, you should listen to that gut feeling. This is not an empty phrase, but the result of numerous studies. We know from research that exactly such feelings promote an unhealthy relationship with exercise. Exercise should always be linked to positive feelings; on corresponding accounts, the focus should accordingly be on the joy of movement and a healthy relationship with one's own body.
That's why you should also be especially careful with Fitfluencers who post before-and-after photos that are mainly about fat loss, weight reduction and the supposed optimization of the appearance. Those who regularly consume such images are more dissatisfied with themselves and have a higher risk of developing an eating disorder in the long run, research shows. Instead, look for accounts that focus on the joy of movement, for example, under hashtags like #joyfulmovement or #intuitivemovement. (Magdalena Pötsch, 6/1/2023)
S | A
Magdalena Pötsch
June 1, 2023, 06:00
If you're looking for fitness inspiration - or "fitspiration," as it's shortened to on social media - you're guaranteed to find it on Instagram. At least in theory: Well over 19 million posts have been shared so far with the hashtag #fitspiration. There are before-and-after pictures lined up with infopostings with tips for the next workout and videos on how to perform squats. Especially during the pandemic, when many people were working out from home, such content boomed.
Slimming craze disguised as fitness
Behind these postings are some 50,000 fitness influencers - also shortened to so-called fitfluencers. Only a few of them actually share scientifically based tips. Almost two-thirds, on the other hand, disseminate advice that is misleading at best, or even dangerous for their followers at worst. That's the finding of a new study in which researchers scrutinized the content of the 100 most popular Fitfluencers. Often, their advice has a negative impact on the mental and physical health of those who follow them, the authors of the study write. Too often, sports would be advertised on such accounts as a means of losing weight, or questionable products such as dietary supplements would be promoted for weight loss. In doing so, they fuel beauty norms that no longer have anything to do with health.
Saye Vedrilla is not surprised by this conclusion. She is a personal trainer, mental coach and owner of Sayyes Women's Gym, a personalized fitness studio for women in Vienna's third district. Vedrilla has known the online fitness industry for many years and finds it "really dangerous" what partly happens on Instagram, YouTube & Co, she tells STANDARD. "Of course, there are many who do a good job, but often fitness influencers have no qualifications in the field. They are neither trained nutritionists nor personal trainers, but present themselves as experts," she criticizes.
"Influencers work out and eat differently than they pretend to".
Many of the accounts studied also featured posts in which bodies were sexualized and unhealthy and, above all, unrealistic body shapes were promoted. Vedrilla has also observed this for some time. "Some female influencers play to their followers. They work out and eat very differently than they pretend to," she is convinced. As an expert, she recognizes that the body image of some influencers is not achievable with the workout regimen they sell to their followers. In simplified terms, this means that influencers themselves would, for example, "secretly" work out regularly with weights, but fool followers into thinking they are only doing short workouts with their own body weight. "Through this training program, however, you will never be able to look like the influencer herself," Vedrilla emphasizes. As a result, many throw in the towel because the successes fail to materialize. "They then think they don't have enough bite, but it's simply unrealistic." This effect can also be proven in studies: #fitspiration depresses many so much that they turn their backs on sports.
For laypeople, it's often difficult to distinguish between accounts that are beneficial to health and those that are potentially harmful. For a mindful approach to fitness accounts, you should always ask yourself these three crucial questions, advises Saye Vedrilla:
1. Does the person behind the account have appropriate qualifications?
The number of followers or likes is not an indicator of the quality of the work. Vedrilla therefore advises researching whether the people behind the account have education and professional experience in fitness and sports behind them. If influencers also give advice outside their area of expertise, you should be wary.
But you shouldn't rely solely on the expertise of fitfluencers anyway, says Vedrilla. Although some share really good content, the tips and tricks never apply to everyone. That's why she recommends that newcomers in particular hire a qualified trainer for their first few exercise sessions to build up an individual workout routine. There are many things you can do wrong, even with supposedly simple exercises: "If, for example, you always do squats incorrectly over many years, it can damage your health in the long run.
2. Is it about a holistic healthy lifestyle or the supposed optimization of a body part?
Beauty standards are constantly changing, and body shapes often become a trend. "Right now, for example, a tight butt is the focus for many, with entire accounts revolving around just the perfect workout for that supposedly perfect butt," says Vedrilla. When there's so much focus on one body part, you should become skeptical, she thinks. Fitness accounts should be about a holistic healthy lifestyle, not the reflection. "The goal has to be to live a healthy life in the long run, not the six-pack or the big butt."
3. What feeling does the account convey?
If you feel uncomfortable scrolling through the posts, you should listen to that gut feeling. This is not an empty phrase, but the result of numerous studies. We know from research that exactly such feelings promote an unhealthy relationship with exercise. Exercise should always be linked to positive feelings; on corresponding accounts, the focus should accordingly be on the joy of movement and a healthy relationship with one's own body.
That's why you should also be especially careful with Fitfluencers who post before-and-after photos that are mainly about fat loss, weight reduction and the supposed optimization of the appearance. Those who regularly consume such images are more dissatisfied with themselves and have a higher risk of developing an eating disorder in the long run, research shows. Instead, look for accounts that focus on the joy of movement, for example, under hashtags like #joyfulmovement or #intuitivemovement. (Magdalena Pötsch, 6/1/2023)
S | A
