This episode of the Female Athlete Nutrition podcast is with two special guests, Zoë Rom and Kylee Van Horn. Zoë and Kylee cohost the Your Diet Sucks podcast, a new show debunking diet culture and nutrition misinformation. Zoë Rom is the Editor-in-Chief of Trail Runner magazine, entrepreneur with her own Microcosm Coaching business, author of Becoming a Sustainable Runner, accomplished ultrarunner, journalist, comedian and more! While Kylee Van Horn is a Registered Dietitian and founder of Fly Nutrition, writer, lifelong runner and coach.  

Our discussion today is all about the dangers of social media influencers. We explore how social media and unqualified influencers are shaping (and often distorting) the way female athletes approach their nutrition, body image, and training. No one is immune to influencers –myself, Zoë and Kylee included– and we share why people are “influenced”, the rise of young girls wanting to become influencers, and where athletes fit into this. Supplements are a particular area of concern we dive into, explaining how a lack of regulation and scientific support allows influencers and supplement companies to run wild with marketing claims for expensive and potentially dangerous products. We give listeners tips for discerning fact from diet fad, finding experts over influencers, avoiding falling for fantastical supplement claims, and cultivating a healthy social media experience.

TOPIC TIMESTAMPS:

4:30 Your Diet Sucks podcast; Zoë and Kylee’s backgrounds

10:30 Being “influenced” by social media; why we get “influenced”

17:45 Supplements on social media: how influencers are selling fake, unscientific and unsafe claims 

21:05 Responsible and ethical social media marketing and use; deciphering good and bad messages

25:50 Athletes as influencers and athletic endorsement

28:30 Mental health and social media use 

31:00 Social media pressures

34:30 Using social media safely and for good

36:35 Who to trust? The blurred lines between experts and influencers

40:20 Tips for separating experts from influencers and not falling for misinformation/ untruths

47:00 How women and men consume media differently 

53:30 End of the podcast questions

For more just like this, check out this episode of Your Diet Sucks: The Dangers of Social Media and Influencers in the Nutrition Space and Zoë’s Athletic Cheese reel 

Listen to the Your Diet Sucks podcast here!

Follow on Zoë Instagram @carrot_flowers_z Kylee Your Diet Sucks @yourdietsuckspod and me, your host Lindsey Cortes, @female.athlete.nutrition 

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