IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i23p9022-d455798.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Analysing Credibility of UK Social Media Influencers’ Weight-Management Blogs: A Pilot Study

Author

Listed:
  • Christina Sabbagh

    (Human Nutrition, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences University of Glasgow, New Lister Building, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow G31 2ER, UK)

  • Emma Boyland

    (Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Bedford Street South, Liverpool L69 7ZA, UK)

  • Catherine Hankey

    (Human Nutrition, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences University of Glasgow, New Lister Building, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow G31 2ER, UK)

  • Alison Parrett

    (Human Nutrition, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences University of Glasgow, New Lister Building, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow G31 2ER, UK)

Abstract

Social media influencers (SMI) are individuals with large follower engagement, who can shape the thoughts and dietary behaviours of their audience. Concerns exist surrounding the spread of dietary misinformation by SMI, which may impact negatively on public health, yet no standards currently exist to assess the credibility of their information. This study aimed to evaluate the credibility of key SMI weight management (WM) blogs ( n = 9), piloting a pre-prepared credibility checklist. SMI were included if they had a blue-tick verification on ≥2 social media (SM) and an active WM blog. A sample of blog posts were systematically evaluated against thirteen credibility indicators under four themes: ‘transparency’, ‘use of other resources’, ‘trustworthiness and adherence to nutritional criteria’ and ‘bias’. Indicators were yes/no questions to determine an overall credibility percentage for each SMI. The ten most recent meal recipes from each blog were evaluated against Public Health England’s (PHE) calorie targets and the UK ‘traffic light’ food labelling scheme to assess nutritional quality. Percentages ranged from 23–85%, the highest gained by a Registered Nutritionist. SMI blogs may not be credible as WM resources. Given the popularity and impact of SM in the context of overweight, obesity and WM, this study may inform the methodological approach for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Christina Sabbagh & Emma Boyland & Catherine Hankey & Alison Parrett, 2020. "Analysing Credibility of UK Social Media Influencers’ Weight-Management Blogs: A Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-17, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:23:p:9022-:d:455798
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/23/9022/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/23/9022/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carmen Berne-Manero & Mercedes Marzo-Navarro, 2020. "Exploring How Influencer and Relationship Marketing Serve Corporate Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-19, May.
    2. Jenny L Hatchard & Joao Quariguasi Frota Neto & Christos Vasilakis & Karen A Evans-Reeves, 2019. "Tweeting about public health policy: Social media response to the UK Government’s announcement of a Parliamentary vote on draft standardised packaging regulations," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(2), pages 1-16, February.
    3. Anna Elizabeth Coates & Charlotte Alice Hardman & Jason Christian Grovenor Halford & Paul Christiansen & Emma Jane Boyland, 2020. "“It’s Just Addictive People That Make Addictive Videos” : Children’s Understanding of and Attitudes towards Influencer Marketing of Food and Beverages by YouTube Video Bloggers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-18, January.
    4. Miller, E.A. & Pole, A., 2010. "Diagnosis blog: Checking up on health blogs in the blogosphere," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(8), pages 1514-1519.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yujia Sui & Bin Zhang, 2021. "Determinants of the Perceived Credibility of Rebuttals Concerning Health Misinformation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-17, February.
    2. Powell, John & Pring, Tabitha, 2024. "The impact of social media influencers on health outcomes: Systematic review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 340(C).
    3. Nobuyuki Wakui & Raini Matsuoka & Chikako Togawa & Kotoha Ichikawa & Hinako Kagi & Mai Watanabe & Nobutomo Ikarashi & Miho Yamamura & Shunsuke Shirozu & Yoshiaki Machida, 2023. "Effectiveness of Displaying Traffic Light Food Labels on the Front of Food Packages in Japanese University Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-11, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nadine Rozenkranz & Andreas Eckhardt & Mirko Kühne & Christoph Rosenkranz, 2013. "Health Information on the Internet," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 5(4), pages 259-274, August.
    2. Marcela Korenkova & Milan Maros & Michal Levicky & Milan Fila, 2020. "Consumer Perception of Modern and Traditional Forms of Advertising," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-25, November.
    3. Carolin V. Zorell, 2022. "Central Persons in Sustainable (Food) Consumption," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-17, March.
    4. Adeola Abdulateef Elega & Bahire Efe Özad, 2018. "New media scholarship in Africa: an evaluation of Africa-focused blog related research from 2006 to 2016," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(5), pages 2239-2254, September.
    5. Yuanyuan Wu & Ozan Kuru & Dam Hee Kim & Seongcheol Kim, 2023. "COVID-19 News Exposure and Vaccinations: A Moderated Mediation of Digital News Literacy Behavior and Vaccine Misperceptions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-29, January.
    6. Collette Sosnowy, 2014. "Practicing Patienthood Online: Social Media, Chronic Illness, and Lay Expertise," Societies, MDPI, vol. 4(2), pages 1-14, June.
    7. Lianren Wu & Jinjie Li & Jiayin Qi & Deli Kong & Xu Li, 2021. "The Role of Opinion Leaders in the Sustainable Development of Corporate-Led Consumer Advice Networks: Evidence from a Chinese Travel Content Community," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-20, October.
    8. Christoph F. Wiedenroth & Verena Otter, 2022. "Can new healthy luxury food products accelerate short food supply chain formation via social media marketing in high-income countries?," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-30, December.
    9. Xian Gao & Choy-Leong Yee & Wei-Chong Choo, 2022. "How Attachment and Community Identification Affect User Stickiness in Social Commerce: A Consumer Engagement Experience Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.
    10. Sesar, Vesna & Martinčević, Ivana & Hunjet, Anica, 2022. "How Influencer Credibility and Advertising Disclosure affects Purchase Intention," Proceedings of the ENTRENOVA - ENTerprise REsearch InNOVAtion Conference (2022), Hybrid Conference, Opatija, Croatia, in: Proceedings of the ENTRENOVA - ENTerprise REsearch InNOVAtion Conference, Hybrid Conference, Opatija, Croatia, 17-18 June 2022, pages 248-263, IRENET - Society for Advancing Innovation and Research in Economy, Zagreb.
    11. Teck Hong Tan & Izian Idris, 2023. "Assessing the significance of first place and online third places in supporting Malaysian seniors’ well-being during the pandemic," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    12. Warinrampai Rungruangjit & Kitti Charoenpornpanichkul, 2022. "Building Stronger Brand Evangelism for Sustainable Marketing through Micro-Influencer-Generated Content on Instagram in the Fashion Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-27, November.
    13. Manveer Mann & Sang-Eun Byun & Whitney Ginder, 2021. "B Corps’ Social Media Communications during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Through the Lens of the Triple Bottom Line," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-21, August.
    14. Tina Bartelmeß & Jasmin Godemann, 2022. "Exploring the Linkages of Digital Food Communication and Analog Food Behavior: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-17, July.
    15. Yakhlef, Ali & Nordin, Fredrik, 2021. "Effects of firm presence in customer-owned touch points: A self-determination perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 473-481.
    16. Ariana-Anamaria Cordoş & Sorana Daniela Bolboacă & Cristina Drugan, 2017. "Social Media Usage for Patients and Healthcare Consumers: A Literature Review," Publications, MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-10, April.
    17. Akawut Jansom & Siwarit Pongsakornrungsilp, 2021. "How Instagram Influencers Affect the Value Perception of Thai Millennial Followers and Purchasing Intention of Luxury Fashion for Sustainable Marketing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-19, July.
    18. David Vrtana & Anna Krizanova, 2023. "The Power of Emotional Advertising Appeals: Examining Their Influence on Consumer Purchasing Behavior and Brand–Customer Relationship," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-18, September.
    19. Louisa Walsh & Nerida Hyett & Nicole Juniper & Chi Li & Sophie Hill, 2022. "The Experiences of Stakeholders Using Social Media as a Tool for Health Service Design and Quality Improvement: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-29, November.
    20. David Vrtana & Anna Krizanova & Eva Skorvagova & Katarina Valaskova, 2020. "Exploring the Affective Level in Adolescents in Relation to Advertising with a Selected Emotional Appeal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-16, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:23:p:9022-:d:455798. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.