In the U.S., more than 10,000 people reach the retirement age of 65 each day — and given the growing population, that number will also increase in the coming years. It’s understandable that you might want to do everything you can to adopt healthy habits while you’re still young. You could potentially stave off a chronic health condition or maintain a healthy weight just by making small changes in your youth. But considering how social-media-obsessed young people are these days, it’s important to consider whether the visually appetizing food trends we see on Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat are helping or hurting those endeavors. In other words: could these platforms be negatively impacting our diet, even if the food depicted seems nutritious?
Facebook has approximately 1.97 billion monthly active users worldwide, and as of September 2017, Instagram had nearly 800 million monthly active users all around the globe. That provides a whole lot of opportunities to influence people.
Instagram’s mainly visual component, in particular, lends itself to food trends. There’s a whole category of foods that were made famous by Instagram, including rainbow bagels (and virtually anything reminiscent of unicorns and/or mermaids), latte art, artisanal donuts, charcoal-laden ice creams, and milkshakes with every treat known to man piled on top. These decadent, colorful, and artistic foods are perfectly suited to this carefully curated fantasy landscape where we’re encouraged to treat ourselves. Although we might know these foods are about gratification rather than nutrition, the sheer amount of luscious content on the platform shows that it’s possible users are inclined to make less nutritious decisions if it might mean they manage to get a repost or make theirs go viral.
But even more worrying is the possibility that the healthy food posts we see on Instagram might not be so healthy after all. Sponsored content featuring flat tummy teas and other weight loss beverages from the platform’s most popular influencers aren’t inherently harmful, necessarily, but they could be spreading dietary misinformation. But at least the fact that they’re hashtagged with an “#ad” designation (or are supposed to be) can help consumers take the endorsement with a grain of salt.
When it comes to posts from less-famous lifestyle and fitness gurus, however, it can be tougher to tell whether something is actually good for you when it claims to be. Just because a smoothie bowl contains fresh fruit or a dish is paleo or gluten-free doesn’t mean it’s a healthy choice for your diet. The whole “fruitarian” trend might look colorful and appealing, but it’s actually incredibly unhealthy. Leeann Ratcliffe, who famously ate 50 bananas a day and dispensed so-called health advice on her platform, learned this the hard way through a lot of backlash, but there are a lot of popular users who are leaving important nutrients out of their diet by following this regimen in the long term. Cleanses are also a dangerous trend to promote, especially if they involve juicing or activated charcoal, dietician Libby Parker told Shape.
“Our bodies are equipped with all the detoxifying equipment they need: liver and kidneys and a drive for homeostasis,” Parker explained. “No special diets or supplements needed.”
Even oversized portions of foods that can be healthy in moderation, like acai bowls or avocado, can further an unbalanced diet. Ultimately, that’s why the experts recommend that you follow… well, other experts on these platforms instead of amateurs. Health professionals and dietitians are a good place to start, but generally speaking, you might want to refrain getting your health advice from Instagram at all.
While all those fresh photos might be fun to look at, it’s important to remember that what you’re seeing is only a slice of real life (if that). Although we certainly eat with our eyes first, it’s important not to take Instagram posts at face value — nor should you necessarily decide what your next meal should be just because someone else took an incredible picture of it.
