Should we post ‘what I eat in a day’ videos as registered nutritionists?

By Bethany Tripp

A big trend on TikTok and instagram in recent years are ‘what I eat in a day’ videos. To many viewers, this might be viewed as a harmless and useful guide for recipes, for others it might be misconstrued as they are eating incorrectly or should eat a certain way in order to look like the person posting it. As registered nutritionists we are fortunate to have the knowledge that there are many factors that influence what we eat and our weight, but the general public generally are not equipped with this knowledge, so we must ensure that we as registered nutritionists share the correct information and do not add to this problem.

 

So let’s break down why ‘what I eat in a day’ posts could be harmful. As I said earlier, lots of viewers may think there is nothing wrong with these videos, in fact when discussing them with my sister, she said “I like them for meal ideas”, and if everyone used them for the same purpose that would be fine. Unfortunately the sad reality is that there will be many people viewing these videos that may have eating disorders and they may be triggered by these videos.

 

Not only that, but many people that view these videos may then think that if they eat the same things, they will get the same body. In reality, this is not how it works, but sadly many people put themselves through eating a restricted diet with the hopes of achieving their ‘ideal’ body. Not only that, but it’s not as if the person creating the video genuinely does eat like this everyday. What you don’t see in their ‘what I eat in day’ video is their takeaways, their dinners out with friends, their fluctuations in hunger with the menstrual cycle, and days where they just fancy different foods. So, like with most things on social media, it may not represent their true reality. Remember people tend to only show the best version of themselves on social media.

 

As registered nutritionists, I feel we have a duty of care when it comes to putting nutrition information out there. Spreading awareness of just how harmful these videos can be for people with disordered relationships with food is so important and it is something I encourage you all to do. I am not saying to start abusing any influencer or person out there that posts these videos, but instead sharing information on why these videos aren’t helpful, you could even start with sharing this blog!

 

Let’s stop this trend together and be responsible as registered nutritionists!

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