Mindful and Intuitive Eating Imagery on Instagram: A Content Analysis

Non-dieting approaches, including mindful/intuitive eating, to health improvement are of increasing interest, yet little is known about young adults' social media exposure to them. Therefore, this study aimed to describe the imagery related to mindful/intuitive eating which is visible to young adult Instagram users. Images categorized under the hashtags 'mindfuleating' and 'intuitiveeating' were searched in September 2021 using the 'top posts' view. Screen captures of 1200 grid-view images per hashtag were used to construct coding frameworks and to determine saturation. Sample sizes for #mindfuleating and #intuitiveeating were 405 and 495 images, respectively. Individual images were coded collaboratively. Almost half of each sample depicted food or drink, of which 50-60% were healthy foods. Approximately 17% were single-person images, of which the majority were young, female adults with healthy weight. Approximately one-third of text suggested credibility through credentials, profession, or evidence. Messaging was similar for both hashtags, encompassing mindful/intuitive eating (similar to 40%), nutrition/eating behaviours (similar to 15%), physical/mental health (similar to 20%), disordered eating (similar to 12%), and body-/self-acceptance (similar to 12%). Differences were observed between hashtags for weight-related concepts (20%/1%) and anti-diet/weight-neutral approaches (10%/35%). The representation on Instagram of mindful and intuitive eating portrays healthy lifestyles without a focus on weight but lacks demographical and body-type diversity. Instagram holds the potential for health professionals to disseminate culturally/demographically inclusive, evidence-based health/nutrition information to youth.

Automated summary

This study examined the representation of mindful/intuitive eating on Instagram among young adult users. The findings revealed that almost half of the images depicted food or drink, with 50-60% of them being healthy foods. Approximately one-third of the text provided credibility information. The messaging focused on mindful/intuitive eating, nutrition/eating behaviors, physical/mental health, disordered eating, and body/self-acceptance. However, the images lacked diversity in terms of demographics and body types.