Toxic Tiktok trends: Weighing in on dangerous viral diet misinformation

Of those who are influenced by nutrition and health trends on Tiktok, 64 per cent report that they adopt at least one of these trends a few times a week.

From drinking a glass of chia seed water to trying the baby food diet, or even eating dog food to increase protein intake, there are some questionable viral nutrition and weight loss trends on social media platforms like Tiktok – and Millennials and Gen Z are listening.

My Fitness Pal, the nutrition and food tracking app, released findings from a survey they conducted of 2,000 Millennials and Gen Z, uncovering concerning statistics about the effect of viral trends popularised on Tiktok.

The My Fitness Pal survey found that 86 per cent of Millennials and Gen Z across the UK use Tiktok, while 61 per cent report that they are influenced by or frequently adopt nutrition trends they’ve found on the platform.

In fact, of those who are influenced by nutrition and health trends on Tiktok, 64 per cent report that they adopt at least one of these trends a few times a week.

Of those who have tried a fad diet they found on Tiktok, the top reported diets were detoxing, foods that burn stomach fat, and liquid cleanses. Gen Z is more likely to experiment with drinking chlorophyll water, while Millennials are more likely to try a detox, the cabbage soup diet, and the Carnivore diet – none of which are dependably backed by science!

Despite the potential health risks associated with some popular Tiktok trends, just under a half (45 per cent) tried them anyway, while an astonishing 30 per cent say they have experienced an adverse effect from a Tiktok “fad diet” trend they found on Tiktok.

To further understand the impact of platforms like Tiktok on health trends, My Fitness Pal also conducted a research and experimental study in partnership with Dublin City University that examined diet and nutrition content on Tiktok. The study analysed over 67,000 videos using Artificial Intelligence to compare them against public health and nutrition guidelines. They concluded that only 2.1 per cent of the analysed nutrition content proved to be accurate when compared to these guidelines.

“The survey findings highlight the fact that people need to better understand what’s in the food they’re eating, dig more into the science behind social trends, and find trusted sources to guide them,” says Katie Keil, My Fitness Pal chief marketing officer.

“There are a lot of great licensed registered dietitians out there, along with medical professionals and credible brands, that are sharing evidence-based content on social media. We encourage people to find and follow those trusted sources.”

While the survey findings and supplemental research study demonstrated concerning trends, one positive finding is that Gen Z trusts content shared by qualified Registered Dietitians more than nutrition information shared by unqualified influencers. This underscores the importance of licensed professionals helping to champion scientific truth across social media, especially considering that Gen Z Tiktok users trust qualified professionals, regardless of whether their nutrition advice is accurate.

“With more people turning to social media for health and wellness advice, it’s critical for us as a community to enhance our digital health literacy,” says Theo Lynn PhD, Dublin City University Business School Professor of Digital Business.

“This involves being aware of the experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness of the source. It’s important to understand that these viral Tiktok trends lack the rigour of controlled experiments and evidence-based scientific consensus, and, therefore, should not be trusted as a reliable source of information.”

Survey by My Fitness Pal in October 2023 with 2,000 people across the United Kingdom, Canada, United States, and Australia.