Sydney: Researchers have found that the fitspiration social media trend is flawed because it makes women feel worse about themselves and their bodies rather than inspiring them to exercise.
According to the study, despite the positive intentions and popularity of social media images depicting women being active in exercise programs, researchers have studied whether the #fitspiration Instagram movement is having its desired inspirational effect - and found the opposite to be true.
The study of more than 100 women aged 17-25 years found that viewing #fitspiration images increased negative mood and body dissatisfaction among women and that exposure to #fitspiration images did not lead to greater exercise behavior.
"When considering actual exercise behavior, there appears to be no beneficial effect, despite their positive intentions and popularity, #fitspiration images are yet another way to make women feel worse about themselves and their bodies," said study researcher Ivanka Prichard from Flinders University in Australia.
According to the researchers, close to 90 percent of young Australians use some form of social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or Snapchat.
"Young women's rapidly growing use of image-based platforms such as Instagram is of concern, given what we know about the impact of idealized imagery on body image," Prichard said.
"One of the most consistent and influential forces on young women's body image is the media's depiction of idealized and often unobtainable body types such as a thin and fit ideal," Prichard added.
Results demonstrated that exposure to #fitspiration images led to significantly higher negative mood and body dissatisfaction when compared to the same women being exposed to travel inspiration images. Some women were then asked to exercise. (IANS)
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