Just 2% of the nutrition advice on social media sites is accurate, according to registered dietician Orla Walsh.
Speaking to Pat Kenny this afternoon, Ms Walsh said many health and well-being influencers are "preying" on the general public.
Ms Walsh said there are some qualified professionals in the space giving sound advice – but warned that most are causing more harm than good.
The Kardashians
She called out the Kardashian family in particular, saying “they’re responsible for so, so much” misinformation.
“Sometimes they promote things like teas that are supposed to make you slimmer, but really what they’re doing is making you go to the toilet,” Ms Walsh said.
While customers might see weight loss results, these changes are not coming from healthy practices and can cause more harm than good.
Exercise
Ms Walsh said many of the diet and exercise regimes on apps like TikTok and Instagram have the same problems – and are often more like “punishment routines” than genuine health advice.
She picked out the ‘75 Hard challenge’ as an example.
The challenge, developed by entrepreneur and influencer Andy Frisella, asks participants to spend 75 days doing two 45-minute workouts, drinking four litres of water, reading 10 pages of a self-help book and sticking to a strict diet.
“What would you have to do wrong in order to do something like that,” Ms Walsh joked.
She noted that the requirements of the 75 hard challenge are nearly impossible to meet, and set unrealistic standards and goals without putting in place sustainable habits.
View this post on Instagram
After completing the challenges, she said, most people will “give up and go back to [their] old ways”.
When it comes to food and diet advice, Ms Walsh said the sheer amount of information online often overwhelms people.
“Even the simple task of having breakfast can be too much for people to decide,” she said. “They do harm regardless of how silly their advice is.”
To avoid falling victim to misinformation, Ms Walsh said the best thing to do is to be sceptical of any advice found through social media platforms and listen to qualified sources.
Listen back here:
