JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

The Mediterranean Diet has been linked to reduced risk for several cardiometabolic diseases. The lack of a clear definition of the Mediterranean Diet suggests potential for confusion among consumers. We conducted a social media content analysis of information about the Mediterranean Diet on the influential social media platform, TikTok, to examine public discourse about the diet and identify potential areas of misinformation. The first appearing 202 TikTok posts that resulted from a search of the hashtag #mediterraneandiet were downloaded and qualitatively examined. TikTok posts varied in quality, but those developed by health professionals were more likely to offer a definition of the Mediterranean Diet (15.1% vs. 2.1%, p=0.01), use scientific citations to support claims (24.5% vs. 0%, p<0.001), and discuss specific nutrients (31.1% vs. 6.3%, p<0.001) and diseases related to the diet (31.1% vs. 6.3%, p<0.001), compared to posts created by non-health professionals. Over 20% of posts filed under #Mediterraneandiet were unrelated to healthy eating, and many promoted foods that were inconsistent with the Mediterranean Diet including sweets, red meat, and processed foods. Social media holds promise as a venue to promote healthy eating, but information quality needs to be considered when developing interventions that utilize new media.