Fans of fitness influencers are more likely to be depressed despite exercising more, according to a study.

According to a new study published in the Cyberpsychology Journal, young adults who follow fitness influencers on social media are physically healthy. Results show that participants reported a disproportionately higher amount of “vigorous exercise” as well as fruit and vegetable intake. However, participants also reported poorer mental health.

The survey saw 1,022 young adults aged 18 to 35 surveyed from May to November 2021 from three different English-speaking countries in various ways: New Zealand looked at students from the University of Orago, the US used Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, and the UK received their results through surveyor, Prolific. Researchers selected these countries for their high social media use, and focused their attention on Instagram use, primarily due to its substantial user population among young adults.

Ultimately, the study found that young adults who actively follow fitness influencers on Instagram are more likely to report engaging in vigorous exercise and consuming more fruits and vegetables than non-followers, suggesting more healthy lifestyles. However, they also reported higher levels of both mental distress and greater well-being than people who didn’t follow the influencers. Researchers believe that this indicates that this demographic of young adults is vulnerable to fitness and food-related compulsive behaviors, including eating disorders.

The researchers noted a marked difference between followers and non-followers, with the latter having a healthier mind-body relationship as they practiced vigorous exercise compared to those who vigorously exercised and followed the influencers. They attributed these results to be consistent with previous findings in other studies on the negative effects of following Instagram influencers.

The study cited a January 2024 systematic review of 12 intervention studies that looked into how social media influencers sharing health information or Instagram images fitting the ideal can affect the minds of those following them. Researchers found that the majority of participants were negatively impacted, with many reporting unhealthy food intake, mood, and poor body image.

By enforcing the so-called “fit ideal,” fitness influencers may encourage “compulsive levels of exercise and obsessions with healthy or pure diets,” also known as orthorexia, according to the study. Internalizing what they see on their social media feeds or their favorite influencer’s espousing can lead to poorer body image, especially if the person is motivated to get healthier or follow a regimen purely for appearance-related motivations.

Researchers suspect that appearance-motivated exercising may increase the likelihood of poorer mental health among those who follow health influencers. Social comparison and damaging intentions can contribute to feelings of depression, anxiety, and negative body image.

Dancing With the Stars host Julianne Hough is incredibly disciplined when it comes to her health and fitness regimen. Hough, 35, shared a video of herself wearing black shorts and a matching sports bra, doing a kettlebell workout at the gym. She also does a mat workout and uses dumbbells. “Up in the gym just working on my fitness 😜,” she captioned the post. “Hot stuff hot haircut,” commented Chelsea Handler. Here’s how Hough is thriving in her 30s.

Hough relaxes with wine and friends. “I love unwinding with people on a lake, having a glass of wine and playing games, because the sense of community feeds my soul,” she told E! News. “I also love my space and unwinding on my own.”

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Hough knows how important exercise is for mental health and wellness. “The more you move, it directly affects the way you feel,” she told E! News. “Whether it’s a Kinrgy class or doing Pilates or yoga, the fact that we get to combine all of those modalities is my favorite because I love versatility… I need a little bit of something different and unique so that my brain stays active.”

Hough is an accomplished and talented dancer. “I have been fortunate enough to try so many different forms of expression over the years but dance has always been the beginning and end for me. I will always come back to dance. This year I made an intention and concerted effort to bring dance back into my life through really challenging myself artistically and athletically. Training! Zoi was a person and choreographer that I have been a fan of for years and that I felt was going to test my limits as that artistic athlete and dancer and I was not wrong. I hope you enjoy this piece. This is the first of more to come ✨” she captioned an Instagram post.

Hough believes in a holistic approach to health and fitness. “This is the age of energetic health,” she told E! News. “Because if you can change your energy, then you can change your mindset, and then you can change your physicality. We’ve been going about it the other way, which is: If I’m physical, then my body is going to look good. But if you focus more on your energy, then you get fitness as a plus.”

Hough needs to move her body at least once a day to feel her best. “I know that I can walk around the hills with my dog,” she told E! News. “That’s key because I have to get her out, too. But movement in general, whether it’s 10 minutes or five minutes of something, I have to move my body.”

Get ready to lace up your sneakers and join the movement because Shahzadi Devje is here to pump up your enthusiasm for National Health and Fitness Day! She discusses the benefits of exercise on overall happiness and the power of community in staying active. Plus, she unveils an exciting community challenge with fantastic prizes up for grabs.