Young People's Experiences of Engaging With Fitspiration on Instagram: Gendered Perspective

Communicating Extremity: Fitness Efficacy and Standards Relate to Using Extreme Imagery and Messaging to Create Fitness-Related Media

Health-related social media increasingly competes with other forms of health communication for public attention. To advance understanding of the genesis of health-related social media communicating extreme fitness standards, we investigated women's creation of fitspiration, social-media content combining fitness images with effortful messages. In a pre-registered study, we hypothesized that creating extreme fitspiration content would relate positively to fitness fantasizing and to exercise self-efficacy, fitness perfectionism, physical activity, thin- and muscular-ideal internalizations, and self-objectification. Undergraduate women (N = 277) created their own fitspiration content by selecting from fitness images and messages that varied in extremity. Fitness fantasizing related positively to creating more extreme fitspiration. When controlling statistically for all other individual-difference variables, exercise self-efficacy and perfectionistic strivings emerged as key variables associated with creating extreme fitspiration content. Results suggest that women who are confident and strive toward challenging goals may create fitspiration content that communicates extreme standards. This work has implications for understanding a potential disconnect between fitspiration creators and consumers, which may illuminate ways to promote healthy fitness communications online.

Does body positivity work for men as it does for women? The impact of idealized body and body positive imagery on body satisfaction, drive for thinness, and drive for muscularity

Exposure to body-positive imagery plays a positive role in women's body image. However, literature has not examined if this is the case for men too. In this study (N = 207), we examined the impact of idealized body and body-positive imagery on both men's and women's body satisfaction and body image concerns. Participants were asked to report their positive and negative mood, body satisfaction, drive for thinness, and drive for muscularity before and after being exposed to either control (landscapes and animals), idealized body, or body-positive imagery. Results showed that women were overall more dissatisfied with their bodies and reported a stronger negative mood and a higher drive for thinness than men. Men, instead, reported a higher drive for muscularity. Exposure to idealized body imagery decreased positive mood and body satisfaction in both men and women. In contrast, exposure to body-positive imagery increased body satisfaction and decreased the drive for thinness in both men and women. Drive for muscularity was not affected by the type of imagery. The findings show that idealized body and body-positive imagery have similar effects on men and women and showcase the importance of considering the effects of body-positivity content for both genders.

Social media influencers and adolescents' health: A scoping review of the research field

Social media influencers (SMIs) have become an important source of health information for adolescents. However, the lack of expertise and commercial interests of SMIs pose challenges for adolescent health. To gain a better understanding of these challenges, this scoping review aimed to synthesize existing research on the role of SMIs in adolescent health. Using the PRISMA-ScR approach, we conducted a comprehensive search of eight databases and screened articles based on predefined criteria. The final sample included 51 articles published between 2012 and 2022. Results revealed inconsistent definitions and classifications of SMIs. The most common topics included appearance, nutrition, and substance use, while mental and sexual health topics were underrepresented. The ability of SMIs to establish trustworthy relationships with their followers was highlighted in the reviewed studies, shedding light on potential benefits and challenges for adolescent health. However, most studies focused on the negative roles of SMIs, such as the promotion of unrealistic body images, unhealthy diets, substance use, and inaccurate diagnosis and treatment advice. In addition, inappropriate advertising of unhealthy products (e.g., junk food, tobacco products and alcohol) was identified as a major challenge. The reviewed studies identified stricter regulation and improved social media and health literacy as important avenues for policy action. Less attention was given to the potential positive impact of SMIs and how to effectively include them in health promotion campaigns. In addition, the majority of studies were conducted in the Global North and relied on quantitative approaches, resulting in a lack of representation of minority populations and male adolescents.

Short-term ozone exposure and serum neural damage biomarkers in healthy elderly adults: Evidence from a panel study

BACKGROUND

Although converging lines of research have pointed to the adverse neural effects of air pollution, evidence linking ozone (O3) and neural damage remains limited.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the subclinical neural effects of short-term ozone (O3) exposure in elderly adults.

METHODS

A panel of healthy elderly individuals was recruited, and five repeated measurements were conducted from December 2018 to April 2019 in Xinxiang, China. Serum neural damage biomarkers, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurofilament light chain (NfL), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), protein gene product 9.5 (PGP9.5), and S100 calcium-binding protein B (S100B) were measured at each follow-up session. Personal O3 exposure levels were calculated based on outdoor monitoring and sampling times. A linear mixed-effects model was adopted to quantify the acute effect of O3 on serum neural damage biomarkers. Stratification analysis based on sex, education level, physical activity, and glutathione S-transferases (GST) gene polymorphism analysis was performed to explore their potential modifying effects.

RESULTS

A total of 34 healthy volunteers aged 63.7 ± 5.7 y were enlisted and completed the study. The concentration of the daily maximum 8-h average O3 (O3-8h) ranged from 19.5 to 160.5 μg/m3 during the study period. Regression analysis showed that short-term O3 exposure was associated positively with serum concentrations of neural damage biomarkers. A 10 μg/m3 increase in O3-8h exposure was associated with an increment of 74 % (95 % CI:1 %-146 %) and 197 % (95 % CI:39 %-356 %) in BDNF (lag 2 d) and NfL (lag 1 d), respectively. The stratification results suggest that males, people with lower education levels, lower physical activity, and GST theta 1 (GSTT1)-sufficient genotype might be marginally more vulnerable.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides new evidence for the neural damage risk posed by O3 exposure, even at relatively low concentrations, which, therefore, requires that stringent air quality standards be developed and implemented.

Exploring the perceived influence of social media use on disordered eating in nutrition and dietetics students

BACKGROUND

Social media use (SMU) is increasingly widespread. More recently, SMU has been associated with increases in disordered eating; however, few qualitative studies have explored this issue in nutrition and dietetics students specifically, where susceptibility to disordered eating may be particularly high. The present study therefore aimed to investigate the perceived impact of SMU on disordered eating in nutrition and dietetics students.

METHODS

One-to-one, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nutrition and dietetics students from universities across the UK. Interviews explored students' views on the potential influence of SMU on their eating-related thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Data were thematically analysed to identify key themes.

RESULTS

The findings suggested that SMU may provide students with a useful tool for the exploration of new recipes, ingredients and health-related information, thus enabling them to improve their eating behaviour and diet quality. However, students also showed high levels of objective awareness regarding the problems associated with SMU, including the presence of misinformation, body image dissatisfaction, social pressures and disordered eating. Interestingly, despite enabling them to detect sources of misinformation, students also discussed the negative impact that their course had on their eating habits, suggesting course content may be an additional risk factor for the development of disordered eating for this particular group.

CONCLUSIONS

Future research should investigate ways to mitigate the negative impact of SMU and course content on disordered eating in nutrition and dietetics students.

A scoping literature review of the associations between highly visual social media use and eating disorders and disordered eating: a changing landscape

BACKGROUND

Although the etiology of eating disorders (ED) and disorder eating (DE) is multifactorial, exposure to highly visual social media (HVSM) may be an important contributor to the onset or worsening of DE and ED symptoms. We aim to understand HVSM use, ED, and DE with a particular focus on gender differences, as well as details of engagement on "selfies" in adolescents and young adults (AYA) through a scoping review of the literature.

METHODS

We conducted a literature search in Psycho ED, PubMed, MEDLINE of articles, including participants with DE/ED and users of HVSM, focused on AYA. Studies in which the study population did not include AYA, the SM platforms used did not include HVSM platforms, and the methodology to assess ED/HVSM use was not robust were excluded.

RESULTS

We found a strong relationship between HVSM and ED and DE with existing gender differences related to the nature of engagement and preference of content. The literature also shows effects of the specific mechanisms of use of these platforms involving "selfie" preparation and posting. Existing research is limited and consists of mostly cross-sectional studies with no uniform methodology and with participant populations that are not well-defined.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of unregulated and profit-driven SM platforms can increase risk for ED. To use these HVSM platforms for positive influence, there is a need to have more transparency, and involvement of clinicians, researchers, and educators.

PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE

Due to HVSM's popularity among the AYA population, it is important to identify its effects on the development of DE and ED, as well as recognize any gender differences. Clinicians, parents, and other adults working with youth should be aware of HVSM's impact on DE/ED, as described in this review.

Associations between social media use, fitness- and weight-related online content, and use of legal appearance- and performance-enhancing drugs and substances

Prior research has documented the connection between social media use and engaging with fitspiration with body dissatisfaction, disordered eating behaviors, and various health risk behaviors (e.g., substance use). However, gaps remain in the knowledge base on whether social media use and engaging with fitness- and weight-related online content are associated with the use of legal appearance- and performance-enhancing drugs and substances (APEDS; e.g., whey protein), which was the aim of this study. Data from participants ages 16-30 years in Canadian Study of Adolescent Health Behaviors (N = 2731) were analyzed. Multiple modified Poisson regression analyses were conducted to determine the associations between hours per day of social media use and any engagement with fitness- and weight-related online content in the past 30 days and use of 10 different legal APEDS in the past 30 days. Greater time on social media was significantly associated with use of energy drinks and pre-workout drinks or powders in the past 30 days. Engaging with fitness- and weight-related online content was significantly associated with the use of caffeine, creatine monohydrate, pre-workout drinks or powders, probiotics, protein bars, and whey protein powders or shakes in the past 30 days. These findings expand prior research on the correlates of social media use and engagement with fitness- and weight-related online content among young people and have important implications for healthcare and public health professionals, as well as technology companies.

#fitspiration: a comparison of the sport-related social media usage and its impact on body image in young adults

BACKGROUND

Following and posting sport-related content on social media is wide-spread among young people. To date, little is known about the interdependence between sport-related social media use and the thereby perceived personal body image.

METHODS

We conducted an online survey (N = 285) to examine how social media influences the sport-related body image.

RESULTS

In general, social media are frequently used for sport (n = 136, 47.7%). Resistance training correlated significantly with several motives of sport-related use of social media, and thus, represents the strong online presence of athletic sports. Less correlations could be found in team or other sports. Regarding the perception of body image, it was found that the group of rejecting (negative) body image significantly correlated with the emulation of social media mediated sport-related beauty and body ideals (r = 0.63, p = 0.001), as well as with increased body dissatisfaction when viewing sport-related posts on social media (r = 0.590, p = 0.001). Perceived social pressure and comparison were found to be mediators of the prevailing influence of social media usage.

CONCLUSIONS

These results reveal the importance of taking a closer look at socially shaped beauty and body ideals, especially in sport-related contents, striving for more educational campaigns such as Body Positivity and, above all, filtering information. Finally, future research is needed to gain deeper insight into young persons' usage behavior of social media and its impact on the individual's body image. Trial Registration The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Ethics Committee of University of the Federal Armed Forces Munich, Germany (01/24/2022).