Nutrition content on TikTok: Reliable or not?

A cross-sectional study shows that nutrition-related content from TikTok is heavily influenced by non-expert creators and diet culture, with misleading content often receiving higher engagement than credible information.

“[Our study suggests that] TikTok prioritizes engagement over accuracy, exposing adolescents to harmful nutrition misinformation,” the researchers said.

The investigators collected data from nutrition-related TikTok posts published between September 2023 and March 2024. They used hashtags (eg, #healthyeating, #healthyfood, #diet, #weightloss) to identify relevant posts and narrow them down to a final sample of 250 posts. [Nutrients 2025;17:781]

The most common types of nutrition-related content creators on TikTok were health and wellness influencers (32 percent) and fitness content creators (18 percent). Surprisingly, qualified health professionals such as dietitians (5 percent), nutritionists (4 percent), and other healthcare professionals (HCPs; 3 percent) were less frequently represented.

Thirty-four percent of nutrition topics were about weight loss, while 32 percent featured recipes, meal ideas, and ‘What I Eat in a Day’ type of videos. The rest were either general nutrition advice (11 percent), content on foods, nutrients, and supplements (10 percent), or goal-oriented nutrition (7 percent).

Content quality, accuracy

Most of the posts lacked transparent advertising (82 percent), failed to disclose conflicts of interest (77 percent), promoted stereotypical attitudes (63 percent), and did not provide evidence-based information (55 percent).

Accuracy-wise, 14 percent of the posts were classified as ‘completely accurate’, and 29 percent were ‘mostly accurate’. The rest were either inaccurate (19 percent ‘completely inaccurate’ and 18 percent ‘mostly inaccurate’) or unevaluable due to lack of information, advice, or commentary (20 percent).

By topic, 43 percent of general nutrition posts were ‘mostly accurate’, while 29 percent were ‘accurate’. Twenty-nine percent of weight loss posts were found to be ‘completely inaccurate’ and 18 percent were ‘mostly inaccurate’. Food, nutrient, and supplement posts contained ‘mostly accurate’ (46 percent) or ‘mostly inaccurate’ (33 percent) information, as did goal-oriented nutrition posts (41 percent and 29 percent, respectively).

A quarter of posts from dietitians were ‘mostly accurate’, and 42 percent were ‘completely accurate’. “[Of note,] dietitians … represented only 5 percent of the analysed posts [yet they] produced the most accurate content … This disparity underscores the need to amplify the voices of qualified professionals on the platform,” the researchers noted.

A third of the posts from fitness creators were ‘mostly accurate’, but 23 percent were ‘mostly inaccurate’, and 18 percent were ‘inaccurate’. Thirty-five percent of health and wellness posts were ‘mostly accurate’, while 25 percent were ‘completely inaccurate’.

Engagement metrics

Content deemed ‘mostly accurate’ (n=72) had the highest engagement, with an average of 108,391 likes, 444 comments, 6,444 shares, and 29,322 saves. For ‘completely accurate’ posts (n=33), the corresponding figures were 71,589, 240, 3,444, and 31,051, respectively.

‘Completely inaccurate’ posts (n=47) garnered 57,191 likes, 476 comments, 6,511 shares, and 22,217 saves, while ‘mostly inaccurate’ posts had the lowest engagement (55,630 likes, 513 comments, 5,268 shares, and 17,260 saves).

“[However,] engagement metrics revealed a troubling trend: ‘Completely inaccurate’ posts garnered significantly higher likes, comments, shares, and saves when compared against ‘accurate’ posts (p<0.05),” the investigators noted.

“This suggests that TikTok’s algorithm amplifies sensationalized and engaging content, regardless of accuracy. The platform’s algorithmic bias, combined with users’ preference for visually appealing or relatable content, may explain the popularity of inaccurate posts. Sensationalized or controversial nutrition claims often attract more attention, particularly on a platform driven by virality,” they added.

Virality over credibility

TikTok has over a billion active users each month, with adolescents dominating the user base. [Social Media + Society 2022;doi.org/10.1177/20563051221086241] Unlike Instagram and YouTube, which focus on curated or long-form content, TikTok’s algorithm prioritizes short, engaging, and even humorous posts based on virality rather than credibility. [Proc Nutr Soc 2024;83:E140; Nat Commun 2017:9:4787]

The non-expert voices are louder, stifling the more credible material from HCPs, which could lead to potentially harmful messages, the researchers said. “This increases the potential for misinformation to spread rapidly.” Exposure to unhealthy food marketing that glorifies weight loss and promotes diet culture could lead to the adoption of harmful dietary practices, body image issues, and mental health concerns. [Front Pediatr 2022;10:993460]

In terms of socioeconomic factors, lower-income and socially disadvantaged populations may have limited access to professional care, compelling them to rely on free and accessible information from social media. [Int J Equity Health 2016;15:81] “Additionally, users frequently employ ‘algospeak’ to bypass content moderation algorithms, further complicating the platform’s ability to ensure accurate and context-sensitive information. This practice disproportionately affects marginalized communities by spreading biased or inaccurate messages,” they said.

Joining the social media revolution: Step up to keep up

Official health organizations have also gradually transitioned to social media as a health information channel. While they do provide highly accurate, evidence-based information, their content often falls short in terms of the engagement-driven appeal that is typical of social media posts. [Social Media + Society 2020;doi.org/10.1177/2056305120912475]

“A study comparing engagement across platforms found that scientific organizations struggle to match the reach of influencer-driven content on TikTok, despite providing more credible information. This discrepancy highlights the challenge of ensuring that evidence-based nutrition guidance competes with algorithm-driven misinformation,” the researchers said.

As such, social media literacy is key for qualified HCPs who intend to capitalize on these channels for information dissemination. It would be imperative for them to learn how to create engaging content with the visual and auditory appeal that captivates the market and aligns with a platform’s style and audience, they explained.

More importantly, appeal should not outshine the content’s integrity and accuracy, and the material should be anchored to their primary narrative of health-related information dissemination, the researchers highlighted.

Collaborative efforts warranted

“Addressing these challenges requires collaborative efforts among social media platforms, HCPs, and policymakers to prioritize accurate, evidence-based nutrition messaging,” the investigators said.

Stringent verification processes, content moderation policies, and fact-checking initiatives are crucial in mitigating misinformation delivered via social media platforms, they added.