“Breaking news: excess amounts of sugar can lead to weight loss,” says one of many anonymous health bloggers.
Although this statement has been published on the internet, that does not necessarily mean it is a credible source to use as medical advice.
Any person has the ability to create their own online health blog and spread their own opinionated advice. However, few alleged health bloggers are actually certified physicians or health advisers.
A key example of this phenomenon is with the popular health blog “The Food Babe.” “The Food Babe” claims to provide tips on how to eat healthy regarding food reports and recipes. “The Food Babe” has acquired over three million followers all around the world. However, the blogger, Vani Hari, does not actually have any credentials and is not officially certified to be distributing any health advice.
“I have actually heard of ‘The Food Babe’ before and have read a couple of her articles. As a blogger, she seems pretty qualified and knows what she is talking about,” said Sarah Brown, a junior.
Regardless, because of the massive amount of followers Hari has acquired, her advice is still perceived as reliable and has profoundly altered the way many view their health.
In August 2010, a health conference was held at the Congress Plaza Hotel in Chicago where many women congregated together to create a “Healthy Living Summit.” “Healthy Living Summit” is a health conference that is held annually but varies in location each year.
The six primary health bloggers that were involved with organizing the event ordered that the breakfast being served not include mini croissants, muffins, and fat-free yogurt because of the high carbohydrate complex the foods contained.
"We told them not to serve that stuff," said Caitlin Boyle of Healthy Tipping Point.
As many of the attendees at the “Healthy Living Summit” conference spoke out about the controversy of the bloggers health advice, it became apparent that the health bloggers themselves were not living the healthy lifestyles that they themselves promoted.
The online bloggers consistently post pictures of their healthy meals along with their workout routines. But, according to Marie Claire, famous health blogger Heather Pare concluded her 10 mile run with a single flourless, low-fat black-bean brownie.
Boyle tweeted about her day of full meals combined with a 22 mile run. However, participants at the “Healthy Living Summit” conference told Marie Claire about how quick Boyle was to dump her half eaten plate of breakfast.
“I am so hungry!” tweeted Boyle after her long day of exercise and light eating.
Julia Meredith, a junior, lives a healthy lifestyle including daily workouts and organic foods. Meredith stated that she has read health blogs before and will adapt to the tips every now and then.
“Personally, I love to follow health advice; I find it interesting and enlightening. I would never follow a diet or health plan that would aim to make my body unhealthy,” said Meredith.
So where is it safe to find reputable health advice on the internet?
The Society for Integrative Oncology states that to assure that health advice found online is credible, one should compare the information found in an article with many reputable sites to make sure the information correlates together.
By checking the credentials of the author or organization, the information’s reliability can be further established.
According to Jeffrey S. Luther, MD, director of the Family Medicine Residency Program at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, online information is found to be most credible when derived from popular science and government-based organizations.
“Medical and scientific organizations present more solid evidence and background for a condition or question,” says Luther.