SHEDDING the pounds by following food bloggers could damage your health, according to new research.

There are a dizzying number of people, companies and accounts hawking diet advice online.

But Scottish scientists have found most of the guidance about weight management is unreliable.

In the first study of its kind only one out of nine top bloggers analysed offered responsible information, leading to accusations that blog advice is completely unregulated. 

First author Christina Sabbagh, a nutritionist at Glasgow University, said: “We found the majority of the blogs could not be considered credible sources of weight management information.

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“They often presented opinion as fact and failed to meet UK nutritional criteria. This is potentially harmful - as these blogs reach such a wide audience.”

It has been reported that one quick search for the hashtag #fitspiration on Instagram alone brings up millions of images - potentially setting unrealistic expectations.

These include close-ups of ultra-defined abs, huge biceps, ‘transformation’ before-and-after pictures and people in gym gear lifting weights. 

Ms Sabbagh and colleagues carried out a comprehensive online search to identify the 14 most popular weight management blogs.

They also used Instagram and Google Incognito searches using terms ‘blog’ ‘weight loss’ and ‘nutrition’ and UK. to identify British bloggers.

These ‘influencers’ were selected on the basis of having more than 80,000 followers on at least one social media site. 

They also had blue-tick verification - recognition for being influential in their field - on at least two and an active weight management blog.

Five were excluded because less than half of posts were not nutrition or physical activity-related.

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This left nine published between May and June 2018 that were compared against 12 credibility indicators. 

These included transparency, use of other resources, trustworthiness and adherence to nutritional criteria and bias.

These were set as ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions - with an acceptable rate more than 70 percent to ensure bloggers who passed achieved most targets. Additionally, the 10 latest meal recipes from each blog were selected and analysed for energy, carbohydrates, protein, fat, saturated fat, fibre, sugar and salt content.

Only the degree-qualified blogger, registered as a nutritionist with the UK Association for Nutrition, passed overall, with 83 percent. 

Another, a medical doctor, did not pass the checklist. The lowest compliance (25%) was from a blogger without nutritional qualifications.

Ms Sabbagh added: “Currently, no standards exist to assess the credibility of influencers blogs. Given the popularity and impact of social media, all influencers should be required to meet accepted scientifically or medically justified criteria for the provision of weight management advice online.”