The increasing use of social media by young adults is indisputable. This phenomenon effects begin to reflect the dietary choices of young age groups including Greeks. These new eating habits might affect their health.
The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether social media influence Greeks’ and other nationality young adults’ eating habits, in regards to dietary recommendations and the consequences that may occur.
Data were collected by answering anonymously an online questionnaire, from January to March 2021. The respondents were 823 people (563 Greeks and 260 of different European nationalities), aged 18-27 years (78,4% female, 21,3% male, and 0,4% other). Pearson’s Chi square test was used to analyze the relationship between variables. The data were analyzed with SPSS at p<0.05 significance level.
The analysis of the relationship between ethnicities and eating habits in relation to the recommendations of the National Nutrition Guides (2014), showed that the consumption of red meat (p=0,000), meat products (p=0,000), fish (p=0,000), dairy (p=0,012), legumes (p=0,000), oil/olives (p=0,035) differed statistically significantly. In terms of ethnicity-related social media, there was a statistically significant difference in young people who were following a diet seen on social media (p=0.035) and bought food products through social media (p=0.000). Besides, the analysis of the relationship between BMI and social media indicated that some participants were seeking nutritional advice on social media (p=0.024) and the young adults feeling pressure from social media were thin (p=0.001).
This study indicated that social media might be a factor influencing young people's choices regarding their eating habits.