Is Fitspiration the Healthy Internet Trend It Claims to Be? A British Students’ Case Study.
Open accessAbstract
The increasingly popular #fitspiration community on Instagram aims to promote body positivity and inspire health in its followers. However, fitspiration accounts often endorse unattainable, overly fit body ideals. The aim of this study is to explore the effects of viewing fitspiration photos on body image and fit-ideal internalisation. We compared 109 British students' (18-50 years-old) responses on state self-esteem, mood satisfaction, body satisfaction and fit-ideal internalisation before and after viewing fitspiration photos. Online questionnaires exposed students to either five male or five female fitspiration photos, respectively for their given gender. Photos were sourced from public Instagram accounts. This study also examined the influence age and Instagram usage have on body image. Exposure to fitspiration photos produced a significant reduction in state self-esteem, mood satisfaction and fit-ideal internalisation, but had no significant influence on body satisfaction. Age had no effect on body image; however, gender impacted mood satisfaction and fit-ideal internalisation. Instagram usage influenced fit-ideal internalisation, with specific Instagram factors, such as how the importance of a photo's "likes" were negatively associated with state self-esteem, mood and body satisfaction. Unexpectedly, Instagram frequency use and posting were related to higher levels of state self-esteem. Detailed explanations of the findings and potential future research opportunities are also discussed.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Two studies found that posting 'selfies' on Instagram led to higher body esteem, rather than body image dissatisfaction.
“First, two studies found that posting ‘selfies’ on Instagram led to higher body esteem, rather than body image dissatisfaction [58, 59].”
From The social media diet: A scoping review to investigate the association between social media, body image and eating disorders amongst young people (2023) · cites this paper as [59]
The Results report that more frequent Instagram posting was associated with higher state self-esteem among the students, but posting frequency was not significantly associated with body satisfaction. The paper does not establish that posting selfies caused higher body esteem; its study examined responses to viewing fitspiration photos, not an intervention in which participants posted selfies. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe relationship between social media and body image/eating disorders is not linear; social media is highly addictive, and individuals use it despite negative outcomes.
“This relationship is not linear. Results highlight that social media is highly addictive, and individuals use it despite negative outcomes [59].”
From The social media diet: A scoping review to investigate the association between social media, body image and eating disorders amongst young people (2023) · cites this paper as [59]
The Discussion reports that investment in Instagram “likes” was associated with dissatisfaction in a way that overall Instagram use was not, supporting a more complex relationship with body image. The paper does not report that social media is highly addictive or that individuals continue using it despite negative outcomes. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Exacting beauty: Theory, assessment, and treatment of body image disturbance.
Thompson, J. K., Heinberg, L. J., Altabe, M., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (1999) · doi:10.1037/10312-000 · Cited by 3,100 · see citing works
Grabe, S., Ward, L. M., & Hyde, J. S. (2008) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.134.3.460 · Cited by 2,053 · cited 1× · see citing works
“to unhealthy body ideals has consequently impacted body satisfaction [14] and mental health [15].”
BackgroundDevelopment and validation of a scale for measuring state self-esteem.
Heatherton, T. F., & Polivy, J. (1991) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.60.6.895 · Cited by 2,007 · cited 11× · see citing works
“A within-subject ANOVA statistical analysis was conducted to compare participants’ responses on SSE, mood satisfaction, body satisfaction and fit-ideal internalisation before and after their exposure to fitspiration photos (Table 1).”
MethodInfluentialUnderstanding Power and Rules of Thumb for Determining Sample Sizes
VanVoorhis, C. R. W., & Morgan, B. L. (2007) · Tutorials in Quantitative Methods for Psychology · doi:10.20982/tqmp.03.2.p043 · Cited by 1,946 · see citing works
Holland, G., & Tiggemann, M. (2016) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.02.008 · Cited by 1,395 · see citing works
Children and Adolescents and Digital Media
Reid Chassiakos, Y. (., Radesky, J., Christakis, D., Moreno, M. A., Cross, C., COUNCIL ON COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA, Hill, D., Ameenuddin, N., Hutchinson, J., Levine, A., et al. (2016) · Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/peds.2016-2593 · Cited by 1,340 · see citing works
The sociocultural attitudes towards appearance scale‐3 (SATAQ‐3): Development and validation
Thompson, J. K., van den Berg, P., Roehrig, M., Guarda, Á. S., & Heinberg, L. J. (2004) · International Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1002/eat.10257 · Cited by 1,178 · see citing works
Fardouly, J., Diedrichs, P. C., Vartanian, L. R., & Halliwell, E. (2015) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.12.002 · Cited by 1,009 · see citing works
Perloff, R. M. (2014) · Sex Roles · doi:10.1007/s11199-014-0384-6 · Cited by 913 · see citing works
Keery, H., van den Berg, P., & Thompson, J. K. (2004) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2004.03.001 · Cited by 815 · see citing works
“Exercise to be fit, not skinny,”: the effect of fitspiration imagery on women's body image
Tiggemann, M., & Zaccardo, M. (2015) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2015.06.003 · Cited by 737 · see citing works
Swami, V., Frederick, D. A., Aavik, T., Alcalay, L., Allik, J., Anderson, D., Andrianto, S., Arora, A., Brännström, Å., Cunningham, J., et al. (2010) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167209359702 · Cited by 731 · see citing works
Heinberg, L. J., & Thompson, J. K. (1995) · Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1521/jscp.1995.14.4.325 · Cited by 715 · see citing works
‘Strong is the new skinny’: A content analysis of #fitspiration images on Instagram
Tiggemann, M., & Zaccardo, M. (2018) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/1359105316639436 · Cited by 594 · see citing works
Facebook Photo Activity Associated with Body Image Disturbance in Adolescent Girls
Meier, E. P., & Gray, J. (2014) · Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2013.0305 · Cited by 585 · see citing works
Nabi, R. L., Prestin, A., & So, J. (2013) · Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2012.0521 · Cited by 510 · see citing works
Fardouly, J., Willburger, B. K., & Vartanian, L. R. (2018) · New Media & Society · doi:10.1177/1461444817694499 · Cited by 421 · see citing works
Shroff, H., & Thompson, J. K. (2006) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2005.10.004 · Cited by 403 · see citing works
Self-Affirmation Underlies Facebook Use
Toma, C. L., & Hancock, J. T. (2013) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167212474694 · Cited by 362 · see citing works
#Gettinghealthy: The perceived influence of social media on young adult health behaviors
Vaterlaus, J. M., Patten, E. V., Roche, C., & Young, J. A. (2014) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2014.12.013 · Cited by 330 · see citing works
Do you “like” my photo? Facebook use maintains eating disorder risk.
Mabe, A. G., Forney, K. J., & Keel, P. K. (2014) · International Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1002/eat.22254 · Cited by 321 · see citing works
The effect of Instagram “likes” on women’s social comparison and body dissatisfaction
Tiggemann, M., Hayden, S., Brown, Z. A., & Veldhuis, J. (2018) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2018.07.002 · Cited by 318 · see citing works
Holland, G., & Tiggemann, M. (2016) · International Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1002/eat.22559 · Cited by 308 · see citing works
Male physical attractiveness in Britain and Malaysia: A cross-cultural study
Swami, V., & Tovée, M. J. (2005) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2005.08.001 · Cited by 295 · see citing works
Cohen, R., Newton-John, T., & Slater, A. (2018) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.10.027 · Cited by 294 · see citing works
“Fitspiration” on social media: a content analysis of gendered images
Carrotte, E. R., Prichard, I., & Lim, M. S. C. (2017) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/jmir.6368 · Cited by 278 · see citing works
Frison, E., & Eggermont, S. (2017) · Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2017.0156 · Cited by 269 · see citing works
A picture is worth a thousand words: A content analysis of Facebook profile photographs
Hum, N. J., Chamberlin, P. E., Hambright, B. L., Portwood, A. C., Schat, A. C., & Bevan, J. L. (2011) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2011.04.003 · Cited by 262 · see citing works
Online Self-Presentation on Facebook and Self Development During the College Transition
Yang, C.-C., & Bradford Brown, B. (2016) · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · doi:10.1007/s10964-015-0385-y · Cited by 262 · see citing works
Robinson, L., Prichard, I., Nikolaidis, A., Drummond, C., Drummond, M., & Tiggemann, M. (2017) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.06.001 · Cited by 253 · see citing works
Mingoia, J., Hutchinson, A. D., Wilson, C., & Gleaves, D. H. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01351 · Cited by 253 · see citing works
A content analytic comparison of fitspiration and thinspiration websites
Boepple, L., & Thompson, J. K. (2016) · International Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1002/eat.22403 · Cited by 252 · see citing works
Slater, A., Varsani, N., & Diedrichs, P. C. (2017) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.06.004 · Cited by 247 · see citing works
Raggatt, M., Wright, C. J. C., Carrotte, E., Jenkinson, R., Mulgrew, K., Prichard, I., & Lim, M. S. C. (2018) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-018-5930-7 · Cited by 239 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Due to conflicting research, it is unclear as to whether fitspi‐ ration has detrimental consequences on audiences [41].”
BackgroundThe effect of social networking websites on positive self-views: An experimental investigation
Gentile, B., Twenge, J. M., Freeman, E. C., & Campbell, W. K. (2012) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.05.012 · Cited by 237 · see citing works
Female physical attractiveness in Britain and Malaysia: A cross-cultural study
Swami, V., & Tovée, M. J. (2005) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2005.02.002 · Cited by 226 · see citing works
Tamplin, N. C., McLean, S. A., & Paxton, S. J. (2018) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2018.05.003 · Cited by 194 · see citing works
Objectifying fitness: A content and thematic analysis of #fitspiration images on social media.
Deighton-Smith, N., & Bell, B. T. (2017) · Psychology of Popular Media Culture · doi:10.1037/ppm0000143 · Cited by 186 · see citing works
Prichard, I., Kavanagh, E., Mulgrew, K. E., Lim, M. S. C., & Tiggemann, M. (2020) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.02.002 · Cited by 185 · see citing works
The Generation Z and their Social Media Usage: A Review and a Research Outline
Yadav, G. P., & Rai, J. (2017) · Global Journal of Enterprise Information System · doi:10.18311/gjeis/2017/15748 · Cited by 180 · see citing works
McLean, S. A., Paxton, S. J., & Wertheim, E. H. (2016) · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · doi:10.1007/s10964-016-0440-3 · Cited by 175 · see citing works
Prichard, I. J., McLachlan, A. C., Lavis, T., & Tiggemann, M. (2017) · Sex Roles · doi:10.1007/s11199-017-0830-3 · Cited by 175 · see citing works
Krause, H.-V., Baum, K., Baumann, A., & Krasnova, H. (2019) · Media Psychology · doi:10.1080/15213269.2019.1656646 · Cited by 158 · see citing works
The fit beauty ideal: a healthy alternative to thinness or a wolf in sheep’s clothing?
Uhlmann, L. R., Donovan, C. L., Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J., Bell, H. S., & Ramme, R. A. (2018) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2018.01.005 · Cited by 149 · see citing works
Drive for thinness and drive for muscularity: opposite ends of the continuum or separate constructs?
Kelley, C. C. (., Neufeld, J. M., & Musher-Eizenman, D. R. (2010) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2009.09.008 · Cited by 136 · see citing works
Bell, H. S., Donovan, C. L., & Ramme, R. A. (2015) · Eating Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2015.12.012 · Cited by 121 · see citing works
Age differences in social comparison tendency and personal relative deprivation
Callan, M. J., Kim, H., & Matthews, W. J. (2015) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2015.08.003 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Thinspiration and fitspiration in everyday life: An experience sampling study
Griffiths, S., & Stefanovski, A. (2019) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.07.002 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Stein, J.-P., Krause, E., & Ohler, P. (2021) · Psychology of Popular Media · doi:10.1037/ppm0000268 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
Davies, B., Turner, M., & Udell, J. (2020) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.02.009 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Gender Differences in Internal Beliefs About Weight and Negative Attitudes Towards Self and Others
Tiggemann, M., & Rothblum, E. D. (1997) · Psychology of Women Quarterly · doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00132.x · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Cha, J. (2010) · First Monday · doi:10.5210/fm.v15i12.2889 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Don’t stop till you get enough: Factors driving men towards muscularity
Stratton, R., Donovan, C. L., Bramwell, S., & Loxton, N. J. (2015) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2015.07.002 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Edwards, C., Tod, D., Molnár, G., & Markland, D. A. (2015) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2015.11.003 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Rodgers, R. F., McLean, S. A., & Paxton, S. J. (2018) · Sex Roles · doi:10.1007/s11199-018-0973-x · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Ashikali, E., Dittmar, H., & Ayers, S. (2015) · Psychology of Popular Media Culture · doi:10.1037/ppm0000099 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- [1]Grogan S. Body Image: Understanding Body Dissatisfaction in Men, Women and Children Routledge London, UK 2016
- [42]Cash T.F. Smolak L. Body Image: A Handbook of Science, Practice, and Prevention Guilford Press New York, NY, USA 2011
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Dane, A., & Bhatia, K. (2023) · PLOS Global Public Health · doi:10.1371/journal.pgph.0001091 · Cited by 289 · see citing works
Schreurs, L., & Vandenbosch, L. (2022) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2022.107364 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
- Authors
- Limniou, M., Mahoney, C., & Knox, M.
- Affiliations
- University of Liverpool (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Limniou, Maria
- Venue
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2021-02-13
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1837
- ISSN
- 1660-4601 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7918573
- OpenAlex
- W3132869829
- Cited by
- 15
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3
- FWCI
- 1.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Keywords
- fitspiration, Instagram, body image, state self-esteem, body satisfaction, body positivity, social media influence, gender differences, age differences, likes, students
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Body Image, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Self Concept, Students, Internet, Young Adult, Social Media
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
