Doctors worried about influencers spreading health advice

Doctors are concerned about the growing number of celebrities and influencers spreading health advice on social media. These people mostly don’t have the medical knowledge to back their claims, which can have dire consequences. It is also important to remember that they earn money from the supplements and products they advertise, medical professionals told AD.

One worrying development is influencers swearing by natural contraception. Over the summer, abortion clinics reported an increasing number of young women with unplanned pregnancies, many of whom said they were using natural contraception, according to AD. The number of abortions was 15 percent higher last year than in 2021.

The medicines authority MEB has launched a campaign to warn people against periodic abstinence as a means of not becoming pregnant. “It is important that women have the facts straight about reliable contraception so that they can make a well-considered choice for themselves. Use reliable information for your decision,” chairman Ton de Boer said, adding that anyone with doubts or concerns about the contraception they are using should “discuss it with your doctor.”

GPs notice an increased interest in supplements. “They have read about it on social media through a celebrity or a health influencer. But if you have a normal diet, there is no need to use supplements at all,” general practitioner Jojanneke Kant told the newspaper. “I understand why people look for advice on social media. There is time pressure for GPs; patients feel less heard. But there is so much misinformation. Quite a few nutritional supplements seem harmless but can be harmful in combination with medicines. For example, St John’s wort does not go together with antidepressants. Please check things like that with your pharmacist first.”

The Eye Fund has set up a system that scans social media for topics related to eye health. “If substantive inaccuracies are stated, we believe it is important to respond based on the content and with facts,” spokesperson Nicolette Mouw said. The Eye Fund recently had to debunk a claim that sunglasses increase the pigment on your retina and make your eyes more resistant to the sun, blocking out “valuable information flow from the sun to your brain.” The Eye Fund responded that, like with your skin, UV radiation is also harmful to your eyes. “You won’t notice the damage immediately, but later in life, this can mean the difference between continuing to see well or becoming visually impaired. Without proper protection, UV radiation can cause permanent damage to your eyes.”

The Institute for Responsible Medicine Use is worried about the development. “A generation is growing up that attaches more value to the opinion of a handsome celebrity than to that of the general practitioner,” director Ruud Coolen van Brakel said. “If people do not also consult an expert, it can have major consequences. I think we will see those consequences in the coming years.”

It is also important to remember that influencers earn a living by selling the products they advertise - they get paid every time someone uses their discount code or clicks on their link, the Association against Quackery added. “Influencers combine idealism with a lack of knowledge. They just say whatever. And they are influenced by money. Lots of clicks mean money. It is a sick system,” spokesperson Catherine de Jong told the newspaper. “You often can’t do anything about it. What they say falls under freedom of expression. All we can do is warn against it.”