In the corners of social networks dominated by the welfare content, influencers recommend a variety of treatments and products to support weight loss, combat exhaustion or promote other desired health results.
Some of the backed approaches can be useful. Many play with little tests to support the statements of enthusiasts, medical experts say.
Some influential encourage their followers to avoid specific foods, such as Seed oilswhile others advocate participating in certain foods, such as carnivorous carnivorous diet. There are video launches for Berberine, a chemical compound that has been promoted online as “Nature Ozempic”, and for non -medical IV vitamins therapy, which companies popularly know as the drip bars market as cures for coats or fatigue.
Undoubtedly, alternative health practices and priests that lacked the support of the medical establishment were part of popular culture long before the Internet age. But the large number of online tips has caused calls from safeguards and found a measure of conventional acceptance.
The new Secretary of Health of the United States, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.He had his Instagram account suspended In 2021 to publish erroneous information on vaccine safety and COVID-19, but many of the ideas they defend have generalized followers. Critics of Dr. Mehmet Oz He accused him of making deceptive statements in the interview program he used to organize; Oz is now President Donald Trump’s candidate to direct the Medicaid and Medicare service centers.
A Netflix series launched last month explored the story of Belle Gibson, a popular Australian well -being influencer who accumulated a follower to talk about healing his terminal brain cancer with a healthy lifestyle and an alternative medicine. In 2015, Gibson admitted to having lied about having a diagnosis of cancer. The Federal Court of Australia then fined her for not donating money that said she would go to charity through the sales of her kitchen book and application.
With the personal well -being that remains a hot topic, here are some tips that health experts have to evaluate the material you see online:
Most influencers have or want commercial relations with companies that allow them to obtain income promoting products. The arrangements do not necessarily mean that content creators do not believe in what they are marketing, but they do have a personal interest in advertising products that may or may not work.
Creators can be paid in images or videos that promote a product and also obtain sales commissions through characteristics such as affiliate links. Therefore, experts point out that it is better to proceed with caution when someone inspires him to press the “Buy” button, either for natural supplements, teas with alleged benefits to lose weight or any other well -being product that appears in their feed of social networks.
Investigation Posted last month In the Journal of the American Medical Association, a considerable amount of Instagram and Tiktok positions was shown that discussed five popular medical tests mostly came from the holders of accounts with “some kind of financial interest” in the promotion of projections.
After analyzing approximately 980 positions on the two platforms, the researchers said that most of the positions they found were misleading and could not “mention important damage, including overdiagnosis” resulting from health people who have magnetic resonances or full -body tests to detect early cancer signs, evaluate microorganisms at intestinal levels or measure hormone levels.
The promotion of dietary supplements has been a particularly lucrative exercise for many influential, said Timothy Caulfield, professor of health and law at the University of Alberta. He considers that the supplement industry is “the backbone of the erroneous information of consumer and designed to feed billions of dollars in income.
“It has reached the point where if someone is selling a supplement, it is a red flag,” he said. “I don’t think it’s always like that, but it certainly is now.”
In general, consumers must take all bold claims with a certain degree of skepticism, said Cedric Bryant, executive director of the American non -profit exercise council. The objective of the creators is to increase the commitment to their content, and some influential may be tempted to make statements not proven to attract more spectators.
“If it’s too good to be true, it’s probably,” Bryant said.
Some influential health and well -being people have medical training, but many do not. Before taking someone’s health advice on social networks, it is a good idea to make sure they have the right or at least capable of sharing the data that led them to recommend certain products or lifestyle options.
In the Fitness area, Bryant recommends verifying if a creator has the certification of an accreditation organization and then confirm the information through the Database of the US Exercise Professional Registry. UU.
The American Medical Association and the American Board of Medical Specialties maintain search databases for doctors, which can help verify the qualifications of creators who share their legal names and general locations. The states also operate databases that allow users to verify if someone has a license to practice medicine or if they have been disciplined by misconduct.
If an influencer that has appropriate credentials pushes certain products, consumers may still want to consider whether a brand or other factors are shaping their recommendations.
The guidelines of the Federal Trade Commission that reflected the interpretation of the Federal Law Agency aimed at influencers with specific products or services to prominely reveal any support. However, sponsorships and possible conflicts of interest are not always revealed.
In 2023, the year in which the guidelines were issued, the FTC issued warnings to a dozen influential people online for not properly revealing paid social media publications that promoted “products that contain sugar” and Aspartamo, an edulcorant found in the diet of soda, ice cream and other foods. Some of the influential were registered dietitians.
If a creator cites studies to support health and diet statements, it is better to verify and see if what they say is aligned with the last medical consensus based on evidence.
“The fact that someone has a ‘MD’ after their name does not make them completely reliable,” said Elias Aboujaude, a psychiatrist and professor at Stanford University who studies the intersection of psychology and technology.
Aboujaude suggests verifying health claims with sources traditionally of good reputation, such as the main academic institutions or government health agencies. He also advised to look for studies cited by creators and evaluate whether they have been published in good reputation magazines and under pairs.
In some cases, it could be too early to know if or not promising results should be trusted, said Katherine Zeratsky, a dietitian registered at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. For example, a study could show the benefits of a specific type of grass. But that does not necessarily mean that the findings have been replicated in other investigations, a requirement for treatment methods to be considered demonstrated, he said.
