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According to an American study, celebrities, when they choose to show the food they eat on social networks, tend to highlight junk food. In any case, this is the observation made by researchers from publications collected on Instagram.
When it comes to food, celebrities tend to highlight junk food on their social network, underlines an American study published in the jama-network. Through this study, the researchers wanted to measure the nutritional quality of the foods and drinks represented in the publications of personalities.
Focus on Instagram
“Little is known about the foods and drinks posted on social media by popular actors and actresses, athletes and musical artists“, explain the authors of the study. They note that research has so far focused on the publications of brands or influencers.
For this research, Professor Bradley Turnwald and his colleagues focused on the Instagram platform which allows the publication of photos and videos. “We focused on this platform because it’s image-driven, with over 500 million daily active users, 72% of them teens in the US, and a big celebrity presence.“, justify the researchers.
More than 5000 products evaluated
To carry out their research, the specialists analyzed the accounts of 181 celebrities. The profiles ranged from athletes to actors to “small screen personalities” and musicians. The specialists collected the data between May 2019 and March 2020. A total of 5180 products were evaluated. Brand-sponsored posts were differentiated from other posts.
To measure nutritional quality, the researchers relied on a nutritional profile index. This IPN generates a score from 0 to 100 (a score of 0 indicates the least healthy and 100, the most healthy). It is determined according to the content of sugar, sodium, energy, saturated fat, fibre, protein and fruits and/or vegetables. Foods with a score below 64 and beverages with a score below 70 are considered “less healthy”.
Unhealthy food depicted
Results? Snacks, sweets and alcoholic beverages are the foods most often depicted in social media posts by highly-followed celebrities, the researchers find. Over 87% of these accounts had a low score, meaning they featured unhealthy food.
Moreover, 95% of these publications are not the result of sponsored publications. “These findings suggest that influential representations of unhealthy food and drink consumption on social media are a sociocultural issue that goes beyond advertisements and sponsorships.The researchers hope that the personalities will be able to promote a healthier lifestyle in the future.
Increase in the cost of living
But beyond the promotion of a healthy lifestyle, it is above all the accessibility of these products that is called into question, with in particular the soaring price of fruit and vegetables, denounced by the association Familles Rurales, with prices jumping 9% in 2 years, between September 2019 and September 2021.
“Showing nearly a 10% increase in two years, it is not surprising to see some consumers turn away, especially those with small budgets.indicates the association, which requests the establishment of a “fruit and vegetable voucher” in 2022, “so as not to divert families with the most modest budgets from these healthy foods”.