Do you also find it difficult to eat more fruit and vegetables? A little scrolling through social media can help

How healthy can social media be for you? Recent research shows that the answer to this may be surprising; sometimes it’s just that one push that makes you eat one more apple every day.

In recent years, scientists have managed to chip away at the image we have of social media. For example, social media is said to make young people less happy with themselves and promote disinformation and demonization. Scientists have now also revealed a positive effect of social media: if you follow the right accounts, it is possible to adopt a healthier lifestyle. This is evident from a recent study conducted by English scientists Aston University. During this study, scientists discovered that it took just two weeks for participants to start developing healthier lifestyles thanks to social media. Researcher Jason Thomas contributed to the study. He explains: “We managed to obtain quite a lot of interesting results. The results suggest that major benefits can be achieved with relatively little effort – all for free!” The research has been published in the journal DigitalHealth.

Instagram
The scientists recruited a total of 52 participants for the study. These participants were divided into two equal groups of 26. The first group was asked to follow social media channels on Instagram that focus on healthy eating. The second group was asked to follow media channels that mainly dealt with interior design. All participants were then asked to keep track of how much they ate and drank daily for two weeks. The average age of the participants was 22 years.

There are indeed a lot of interesting finds among the results of the experiment. For example, the scientists discovered that the participants in the first group ate an average of 1.4 more fruit portions per day. Not only that, they also ate on average 0.8 fewer energy-dense snacks, such as high-calorie bars or sweetened drinks.

Offline versus online
The results of the study are important because many people find it difficult to eat enough fruit and vegetables and researchers are keen to find ways to change this. The idea that social media could play a role in this is not new. But previous research suggested that not online, but especially offline expressions – such as hanging posters in canteens and cafes – can be useful if you want to get people to eat healthier. However, the new research has now found evidence that online interventions – which are not so drastic and are also free – can also have an effect. However, more research is needed, Thomas emphasizes. “Our future research will focus on how long-lasting the benefits found actually are.” In other words: whether people who follow ‘healthy’ social media accounts also continue to eat healthy in the long term.

Fellow scientist Lily Hawkins also contributed to the study. She concludes: “Previous research has proven that social norms on social media can cause people to eat differently. This research has shown how this theory ultimately translates into practice. Of course, we would now also like to know how we can imitate this effect in a larger group.”