This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: For countless people, social media has become a go-to source of advice on how to look, eat and exercise. On Instagram and TikTok, wellness influencers push their own strict diet and workout regimens while peddling everything from activewear to protein powders.
Invariably, they're young, beautiful, thin and toned. Influencers such as Sommer Ray, Tammy Hembrow and Kayla Itsines have attracted tens of millions of followers by presenting highly curated versions of health, happiness and success. Many young women find fitness influencers motivating and educational, while social media can provide communities of support for those pursuing their own health and fitness goals.
But this influence—often coming from people with questionable credibility, on major platforms that lack safeguards against unsupported health advice—can also come at a cost. Our newly published research suggests that's particularly the case for young women trying to navigate constantly changing ideas about fitness and the "ideal" body. We surveyed 200 young New Zealand women about the body ideals they encountered online.
They identified a sometimes contradictory mix: being lean and toned, thin, curvy, fashionable, fat-free, muscular or "thick"—with shapely buttocks and thighs. Some 57% felt young women were under strong pressure to achieve these ideals. But they also recognized how difficult the ideals could be to reconcile: How, for instance, do you simultaneously achieve an ideal that demands being both thin and curvy?
We found another contradiction. Online fitness trends such as the popular "fitspiration" are often presented in terms of empowerment, body positivity and self-love while at the same time encouraging strict control over diet, exercise and other aspects of daily life. For some, constantly chasing these ideals took a toll.
Participants described disappointment and negative relationships with bodies that never seemed "enough." Some feared gaining weight or found themselves continually looking for new "flaws." The pressure could also translate into potentially harmful behavior. Some 17% of participants reported engaging in disordered eating practices, while others had considered cosmetic surgery. Even those who felt they had achieved an ideal body continued comparing themselves with others online—only to encounter another ideal to live up to.
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