Fitness influencers have existed for decades, whether pushing out “how to get abs” DVDs in the 80s or offering workout advice on TikTok.

While the methods to spread this content have changed over time, viewers still blame themselves when abs they’ve been promised do not arrive in the mail.

When influencers use physical changes as clickbait it creates unrealistic expectations and takes away from the positive impacts of exercise that are unrelated to what one’s body looks like including increased energy and strengthening muscles.

Workout tutorials on YouTube can be a helpful tool for those who have limited time to move their bodies. Videos can be as long as an hour or as short as five minutes, allowing them to squeeze in some stretching, core strengthening exercises or yoga into their busy day.

However, there is a point where content like this takes a turn for the worse and that is when the appearance of one’s body cannot be separated from the benefits of daily movement.

When healthy habits are looked over due to external factors such as appearing “toned” (a word that actually means to continuously contract muscles) this content becomes discouraging and even dangerous. 

In 2022, a Science Direct study showed that women between the ages of 18 and 30 who engage in fitness and clean eating content on Instagram, were found to have symptoms of disordered eating and internalized thin idealism. 

Fitness influencers are often sponsored by dietary supplements that focus on weight loss or muscle growth. These products include detoxes that perform the job of your liver. According to Harvard Health, those who regularly participate in a detox diet can develop metabolic acidosis, an excessive acidity in the blood that can cause comas or even death. 

“It can be really negative, but they’ll do it because they want the money. They try to market their own products like training programs or any dietary supplements that they have,” said Ainsley Porter, a cross-country runner and basketball team member at Ida B. Wells Highschool.

Not all products displayed are dietary. The marketing in the dieting industry expands to equipment and even clothing. “They’re like, ‘Oh, these wrestling shoes have helped me so much,’” said Cia Kidoguchi, a member of the wrestling team and senior at IBW.

Just because something is advertised does not automatically deem the product an ineffective scheme, but it does mean the influencer makes money for saying positive things about it.

In addition, some promote dangerous behaviors such as fasting insulin to “check” if you really are a diabetic, which can cause diabetic ketoacidosis and possible death. In other cases, influencers recommend drinking water instead of eating when hungry or cutting out major food groups, both of which are dangerously restrictive and resemble disordered eating symptoms.

“I don’t tend to check credentials,” said Kidoguchi, “I’m just looking for the pop-up words of ‘protein’ ‘quick and easy’ but that could be important because a nutritionist might understand that different things work for different people, while influencers seem a bit more like ‘this is what works for me’ and assume it would work for others.”

“I take their word for it most of the time. I see if it helps and that it’s what I need at the time,” said Ethan Hoover, a freshman at IBW, involved in lacrosse, football, and wrestling.

It’s important to check that an account is run by a registered dietitian before considering nutrition advice. In addition, the nutrition needs of every person are different, so watching a TikTok video is not an adequate replacement for meeting with a medical care provider. 

“When they don’t have credentials, I take it with a grain of salt,” said Porter.

It’s not uncommon for influencers to edit their bodies to show their progress on a new workout or training program which doesn’t send an encouraging message to viewers.

“If they’re editing their photos, and pushing brand supplements, it’s giving a misleading image,” said Shankara Carson, a weightlifter and wrestling team member. “I think that can probably get to some people and they’ll be discouraged by not seeing the results and they’ll be down money that they shouldn’t have spent.”

In addition, it focuses the benefits of the workout on how it affects your outward appearance rather than how you feel and move.

However, there are healthier ways to engage with fitness content and influencers. For example, all Peloton instructors are certified personal trainers. But if you don’t want to shell out $1400 for an exercise bike, there are plenty of more affordable options. 

Personal trainer, Kira Onysko Jones has a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and provides fitness tips and one-on-one coaching online. Another great resource is Laura Girard, a certified personal trainer who posts free workouts and “The Energy Academy” a subscription-based fitness program that includes live or recorded classes and tips for checking form. It’s meant to be a diet-free space where all bodies are welcome to move.

In an Instagram post, Girard said, “There is no such thing as a ‘toned arm workout.’ Appearance is not a behavior. It’s bad science, it’s diet culture, it’s shame-based marketing. It’s not the missing link to make you look like the girl in the video.” Her workouts are posted on YouTube and are titled based on their benefits for the body instead of how they impact its appearance.

Gerard is also in the camp of fitness influencers who stay in their lane, “I shy away from anything but very general nutrition advice here because it’s out of my scope of practice as a CPT (even with a nutrition certification),” she said.

There’s a wide range of qualifications to be certified to give nutrition advice since each individual has different needs.

According to the National Library of Medicine, one should lessen or stop exercise when feeling stressed or unwell. The majority of fitness influencers will not show themselves taking a rest day because that content is less profitable. What crosses your for you page is only a snapshot of their lives and doesn’t include what they do to support their bodies in movement.

“I base it off how I’m feeling physically, and even mentally or emotionally because sometimes I feel like I just mentally can’t do this right now,” said Porter.

“It’s difficult during sports seasons, because if I want to be performing at my peak then I don’t want to fatigue myself too much,”  said Carson, “For example, I have a [wrestling] match today so I didn’t work out this morning. That’s like the only exercise I do. I don’t want to spread myself too thin. I want to be able to work really hard during practice.”

Like anything else on social media, fitness content is made to reach the largest audience and therefore make the most money. It is not transparent and it’s easy to get caught up in a world where bodies change overnight if you’re on the “right” program. Society has romanticized smaller bodies so much that diet programs alone make billions every year. But when content advertises quick bodily changes it isn’t representative of real life.

“I feel like we always compare ourselves to people online and it’s just the highlights of what the person is doing,” said Porter. “When in reality, we don’t see their lowlights and what’s really happening in their life.”