JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Social media is a prominent way in which health information is spread. The accuracy and credibility of such sources ranges widely, with misleading statements, misreported results of studies, and lack of references causing health misinformation to become a growing problem. Prior research on health-related misinformation related to topics including vaccines, nutrition, and cancer, however, has excluded physical activity despite it being highly searched and discussed online.

Objective:

This systematic review was designed to synthesize the existing literature focused on physical activity misinformation online in accordance with PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) 2020 guidelines.

Methods:

Keyword searches were performed in PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Scopus databases for records published between January 2016 and December 2023. This search strategy yielded a total of 4,160 articles. Titles and abstracts were screened by independent reviewers, resulting in 135 articles selected for full-text review. After further review, 20 articles met the inclusion criteria and were used in the final synthesis.

Results:

Of those included, 12 articles addressed physical activity misinformation pertaining to specific diseases or conditions, six involved general physical activity messaging and believability, one focused on weight-loss, and one addressed workplace sitting guidelines. The social media platforms YouTube (n=9), Facebook (n=2), Instagram (n=1), and TikTok (n=1) were studied, whereas other articles (n=7) analyzed media that had not explicitly been posted to social media but could be shared widely online. Four articles reported research that proactively engaged participants and the remaining 16 articles analyzed readily available online content including news articles, websites, magazine articles and advertisements, or social media. Fifteen articles reported at least one measure of misinformation prevalence, whereas 10 reported a metric of reach, and only one study reported a measure of misinformation spread; only one article explicitly addressed the spread of physical activity misinformation online.

Conclusions:

Our findings indicate that online physical activity misinformation (OPAM) research spans a diverse array of physical activity topics, with YouTube being the most studied platform due to its widespread use and ease of content evaluation. The review also highlights the prevalence of low-quality information across various platforms and the critical role of source credibility and content framing in combating misinformation. Our review underscores the need for multifaceted research approaches and suggests several strategies to mitigate OPAM, including improved messaging, high-quality information dissemination by institutions, detailed debunking efforts, and raising awareness about misinformation. Future research should focus on understanding the distribution and spread of OPAM across different platforms and its impact on various populations. Clinical Trial: PROSPERO Registration: CRD42022316101