The self-reported influence of social media on food choices of young adults at a tertiary institution in South Africa.
Objective: The accuracy of user-generated content on social media (SM) is unclear, raising concerns about misinformation and the influence of marketing on food choices. This study aimed to determine the self-reported influence of SM use on food choices through investigating different types on nutrit...
| Publicado en: | South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition Vol. 39; no. 1; pp. 1 - 9 |
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| Autores principales: | , , |
| Formato: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Apr2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=192371365&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 192371365 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 16070658 39WI jtl: South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition issn: 16070658 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Apr2026 vid: 39 iid: 1 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania artinfo: ui: 192371365 191600467 192371365 192371365 10.1080/16070658.2026.2617766 192371365 ppf: 1 ppct: 8 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: The self-reported influence of social media on food choices of young adults at a tertiary institution in South Africa. aug: au: Kreft, M Lombard, C Koen, N affil: Division of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa sug: subj: Self Report Social Media Food Preferences Evaluation Students, College Psychosocial Factors Colleges and Universities Psychosocial Factors Health Promotion Adolescent Nutrition Evaluation Human Male Female Adolescence Adult South Africa Cross Sectional Studies Descriptive Research Nutritional Status Consumer Health Information Recipes Dietary Supplementation Diet Information Resources Access to Information Nutrition Education Health Food Survey Research Thematic Analysis Logistic Regression Odds Ratio Confidence Intervals Sex Factors Physical Activity Public Figures Psychosocial Factors Health Behavior Convenience Sample Chi Square Test Age Factors Exercise Descriptive Statistics Data Analysis Software Adolescent: 13-18 years Adult: 19-44 years Male Female ab: Objective: The accuracy of user-generated content on social media (SM) is unclear, raising concerns about misinformation and the influence of marketing on food choices. This study aimed to determine the self-reported influence of SM use on food choices through investigating different types on nutrition information, sources of influence and platform usage. Design: A cross-sectional descriptive study with an analytical component was conducted by a self-administered electronic survey (n = 1 434). Setting: Tertiary institution in Western Cape, South Africa. Participants: 1 434 registered undergraduate and postgraduate students aged 18–35 years, who were SM users. Results: The majority (64%) used SM for health and nutrition-related content, with 89% of participants reporting it influenced their food choices. Females (70%, n = 693) were more likely than males (52%, n = 228) to use social media for nutrition information (p < 0.0001). Daily engagement was highest on Instagram (64%). Participants rated their level of influence of SM on their food choices for diets, supplements, food products and recipes; using a four-point Likert scale (no influence, slight influence, moderate influence, high influence). Participants mostly reported 'no influence' of diets (41%) and supplements (49%) on food choices, while a 'slight' level of influence was reported for food products (46%) and recipes (44%). The majority (61%) reported trying to convince others to try food products, supplements, recipes or diet trends seen on SM. Conclusion: SM was used to access nutrition-related content and had a self-reported impact on food choices. Food products, recipes, and friends and family were most influential. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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