271: Improving Digital Health Literacy: Influencers, Misinformation & Leveraging Credibility – Dr. Theo Lynn

New health, nutrition and weight loss trends are popping up daily on social media. Many of these fly-by-night trends are simply that, but a new study focusing on the platform TikTok found that these trends may have more of a hold on people than once thought.

To expose the inaccurate information being extracted from TikTok, MyFitnessPal, the #1 nutrition and food tracking app, partnered with Dublin City University on a two-part research project called “Health and Nutrition Inaccuracies on TikTok”.  Part 1 looked at social media influencers and Part 2 looked at Gen Z TikTok users. Study findings ranged from determining that only about 2% of content being classified as accurate to Gen Z users trusting influencers more if they claim to be qualified dietitians.

Tune in to this episode to learn about:

·       how and where Americans are getting their health information has changed

·       improving our digital literacy is necessary to make better choices

·       MyFitnessPal’s ‘Nutrition IQ’ surveys’ key themes and concerning statistics

·       the Dublin City University 2-part research study

·       why the study focused on TikTok vs other platforms

·       preliminary findings from the 2-part study

·       what the “2% accuracy” finding really means

·       the positive finding about Gen Z’s trust in registered dietitians over unqualified influencers

·       the importance of licensed professionals helping to champion scientific truth across social media

·       the mere exposure effect, parasocial effect, and rules of persuasion

·       how to identify warning signs when scrolling on social media

·       how RDNs can stay on top of trends and leverage them to create compelling content that is evidence-based

·       a helpful infographic on ‘How to Spot Questionable Nutrition Tips on Social Media’

·       if it’s ‘safe’ to be on TikTok

·       resources for the public and health professionals

Full shownotes, transcript and resources at:  https://soundbitesrd.com/271