Research Symposium

BIO

I am a Freshman at FSU majoring in Biology on a Pre-Medical track. I am interested in performing research on health and diet, especially on disordered eating, and I plan to attend medical school to become a surgeon.

Content Analysis on Nutrient Content Claims on Food Package Advertisements on TikTok

Abstract

This study determines how recommendations from influencers in TikTok grocery haul videos change consumer food choices. There are concerns that these influencers promote diet agendas by making claims, substantiated or not, regarding health benefits that one may attain via the same choices. This alters consumers’ decisions on what products to purchase, and their mindsets about consuming certain goods, possibly inducing disordered eating thoughts. A quantitative content analysis of TikTok grocery hauls posted from January 2024 to December 2024 will be conducted on influencers who post such videos. Data collected from these TikToks was coded in preliminary testing for inter-coder reliability. The videos were coded on gender of the influencer, diet types promoted, types of foods shown, claims made regarding health benefits of certain products, and more. Once inter-coder reliability is established, coding will continue for the remaining TikTok data. The study is ongoing, but raw data is being collected and processed. Thus far, health influencers have been the dominant presenters of food hauls, and nutritional content factors regarding fat, sugar, and protein are their primary focus. Additionally, they frequently endorse whole food and high-protein diet types. The coded raw data suggests that health influencers are often filming grocery haul videos and commonly make claims regarding health benefits or drawbacks that can come from eating the products they display, promoting certain diet choices among their viewers. Thus, grocery haul TikToks often contain diet propaganda, and there is a risk of the encouragement of disordered eating habits or beliefs.

Keywords: Nutrition, Social media, Food advertisement