Is Fitspiration Truly an Inspiration? Relationships Between Fitspiration, Exercise, and Body Image

Young adults across the United States struggle to meet physical activity recommendations and consume healthy diets, and they often suffer from issues related to body image. Social media influencers dedicated to fitspiration (i.e., fitness inspiration) are purported to have a goal of inspiring others...

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Autores principales:	Anna K. Bowles, Shana M. Walsh, Thomas L. Andre
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	New Prairie Press 2021
Materias:	social media health behavior fitspo exercise Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/4cb3ed9bf86740649feb652cb5793b81
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:4cb3ed9bf86740649feb652cb5793b812021-11-18T18:31:44ZIs Fitspiration Truly an Inspiration? Relationships Between Fitspiration, Exercise, and Body Image10.4148/2572-1836.11012572-1836https://doaj.org/article/4cb3ed9bf86740649feb652cb5793b812021-04-01T00:00:00Zhttps://newprairiepress.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1101&context=hbrhttps://doaj.org/toc/2572-1836Young adults across the United States struggle to meet physical activity recommendations and consume healthy diets, and they often suffer from issues related to body image. Social media influencers dedicated to fitspiration (i.e., fitness inspiration) are purported to have a goal of inspiring others to lead healthier lifestyles. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between fitspiration and exercise and body image perceptions amongst college students. Participants (n = 361, mean age = 20.2 years, 78% female) completed surveys that included sociodemographic information, social media usage, fitspiration content engagement, exercise, and body satisfaction. An independent samples t-test assessed differences in exercise by fitspiration viewership, and a chi-square analysis determined relationships between fitspiration and body satisfaction. Participants were routinely active on social media (91% use it for > 1 hour per day), and 61.5% were exposed to fitspiration content. Approximately 41% of respondents have followed exercise advice from fitspiration influencers, though only 11% reported having purchased products. No relationships were reported between following fitspiration and days per week of exercise (M∆ = .02(.20), p = .91). Participants that followed fitspiration were more likely to be dissatisfied with their bodies, X2 (1, n = 316) =7.77, p = .005, compared to participants who did not. Findings demonstrate fitspiration was not related to exercise and was related to poorer body image perceptions among college students. These results are supported by previous findings and indicate a critical misalignment between the purported purpose of fitspiration and the outcome of its viewing.Anna K. BowlesShana M. WalshThomas L. AndreNew Prairie Pressarticlesocial mediahealth behaviorfitspoexerciseSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691Public aspects of medicineRA1-1270ENHealth Behavior Research, Vol 4, Iss 2 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	social media health behavior fitspo exercise Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
spellingShingle	social media health behavior fitspo exercise Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Anna K. Bowles Shana M. Walsh Thomas L. Andre Is Fitspiration Truly an Inspiration? Relationships Between Fitspiration, Exercise, and Body Image
description	Young adults across the United States struggle to meet physical activity recommendations and consume healthy diets, and they often suffer from issues related to body image. Social media influencers dedicated to fitspiration (i.e., fitness inspiration) are purported to have a goal of inspiring others to lead healthier lifestyles. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between fitspiration and exercise and body image perceptions amongst college students. Participants (n = 361, mean age = 20.2 years, 78% female) completed surveys that included sociodemographic information, social media usage, fitspiration content engagement, exercise, and body satisfaction. An independent samples t-test assessed differences in exercise by fitspiration viewership, and a chi-square analysis determined relationships between fitspiration and body satisfaction. Participants were routinely active on social media (91% use it for > 1 hour per day), and 61.5% were exposed to fitspiration content. Approximately 41% of respondents have followed exercise advice from fitspiration influencers, though only 11% reported having purchased products. No relationships were reported between following fitspiration and days per week of exercise (M∆ = .02(.20), p = .91). Participants that followed fitspiration were more likely to be dissatisfied with their bodies, X2 (1, n = 316) =7.77, p = .005, compared to participants who did not. Findings demonstrate fitspiration was not related to exercise and was related to poorer body image perceptions among college students. These results are supported by previous findings and indicate a critical misalignment between the purported purpose of fitspiration and the outcome of its viewing.
format	article
author	Anna K. Bowles Shana M. Walsh Thomas L. Andre
author_facet	Anna K. Bowles Shana M. Walsh Thomas L. Andre
author_sort	Anna K. Bowles
title	Is Fitspiration Truly an Inspiration? Relationships Between Fitspiration, Exercise, and Body Image
title_short	Is Fitspiration Truly an Inspiration? Relationships Between Fitspiration, Exercise, and Body Image
title_full	Is Fitspiration Truly an Inspiration? Relationships Between Fitspiration, Exercise, and Body Image
title_fullStr	Is Fitspiration Truly an Inspiration? Relationships Between Fitspiration, Exercise, and Body Image
title_full_unstemmed	Is Fitspiration Truly an Inspiration? Relationships Between Fitspiration, Exercise, and Body Image
title_sort	is fitspiration truly an inspiration? relationships between fitspiration, exercise, and body image
publisher	New Prairie Press
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/4cb3ed9bf86740649feb652cb5793b81
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Is Fitspiration Truly an Inspiration? Relationships Between Fitspiration, Exercise, and Body Image

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