Social Media Use, Dietary Behaviours and Dietary Supplement Use Among Young Adults Attending Fitness Centres in Ibadan, Nigeria: A cross-sectional study

In the modern world, the path to a healthier body often begins not in a kitchen or a gym, but on a glowing screen. For young adults, social media has become a primary source of advice on what to eat, how to move, and which supplements to take. This digital landscape is not a single, uniform stream of information; rather, it is a complex environment where simply seeing a post is different from actively liking or sharing it, and where the emotional impact of a message can differ from the motivation it sparks. Researchers have long suspected that these different ways of interacting with online content shape our eating habits in distinct ways. Understanding this is crucial because the choices young people make about food and supplements can have lasting effects on their health, yet much of what they see online is driven by trends, advertisements, or idealized images rather than scientific fact.

A team of researchers in Ibadan, Nigeria, set out to untangle these relationships among young adults who frequent fitness centers. They focused on a specific group: men and women between the ages of 18 and 35 who were already committed to physical training. The study involved 318 participants who filled out a detailed questionnaire about their social media habits, their eating patterns, and their use of dietary supplements. The researchers did not just ask how much time these individuals spent online; they broke down their digital lives into specific psychological and behavioral categories. They measured how often people were exposed to fitness content, how actively they engaged with it, how susceptible they were to the emotional pull of online messages, and how much they felt motivated by what they saw. By analyzing these factors alongside dietary choices, the team aimed to see which aspects of social media use actually drove people toward healthier eating or toward restrictive, appearance-focused diets.

The study revealed that the way young adults interact with social media matters far more than the simple fact that they are exposed to it. When it came to adopting dietary practices inspired by online content, three factors stood out as powerful drivers: active engagement with the content, a psychological susceptibility to the messages, and feeling motivated by what was seen. Participants who actively sought out information, discussed it, or felt personally moved by fitness posts were more likely to change their eating habits based on what they found online. In fact, the psychological susceptibility of an individual—their emotional responsiveness to online content—was the strongest predictor of whether they would alter their diet. This suggests that the internal reaction to a post is more influential than the post itself.

However, the story becomes more complex when looking at restrictive eating behaviors, such as skipping meals or limiting food groups to change one's body shape. Here, the researchers found that passive exposure to social media content was positively linked to these restrictive habits. Simply scrolling through images of idealized bodies or fitness transformations without active engagement was enough to nudge some individuals toward unhealthy dietary restrictions. Surprisingly, active engagement acted as a protective factor in this specific area; those who actively interacted with content were less likely to adopt restrictive eating behaviors. This implies that while seeing too much of the "perfect body" ideal can be harmful, taking an active, critical role in consuming that content might help young adults resist the pressure to starve themselves or follow extreme diets.

The investigation also looked at the use of dietary supplements, such as protein powders or vitamins, which are popular among gym-goers. Among the participants who used these products, the only factor that consistently predicted their usage was their psychological susceptibility to social media. Those who were more emotionally influenced by online messages were more likely to take supplements, regardless of how much time they spent on social media or how actively they engaged with it. This finding highlights that the decision to take a supplement is often driven by a deep-seated belief in the power of the information seen online, rather than by a simple accumulation of facts. Interestingly, the study found that age and gender did not play a significant role in these outcomes; the psychological and behavioral responses to social media were the true drivers of dietary choices for this group.

The research, conducted across four popular fitness centers in Ibadan, involved a diverse group of young adults, with an average age of nearly 27 years. About half of the participants were male, and the majority were either students or self-employed. While the study confirmed that social media is a major force shaping how these young people eat and supplement, the researchers noted that their work was a snapshot in time. Because the study was cross-sectional, it could show that these factors are linked, but it could not prove that social media caused the changes in diet. The data relied on what participants reported about themselves, which can sometimes be influenced by how they wish to be perceived. Despite these limitations, the findings offer a clear picture: the digital world influences health through a mix of active participation, emotional response, and motivation, rather than through passive viewing alone.

For public health experts and nutritionists, these results suggest that simply telling young people to avoid social media is not the answer. Instead, the focus should be on helping them develop the skills to engage critically with the content they see. Teaching young adults how to evaluate the credibility of online health advice and how to recognize the emotional hooks used by influencers could help them make better decisions. The study concludes that fostering digital nutrition literacy—teaching people how to navigate the complex landscape of online health information—is essential. By encouraging active, thoughtful engagement rather than passive consumption, it may be possible to harness the positive potential of social media while protecting young adults from the risks of restrictive eating and unnecessary supplement use.