Nearly 60% of young women get health advice from influencers, research finds

Nearly six in ten young women get health and wellness advice from influencers, new research shows.

Women aged 18 to 29 were more likely than young men to use online influencers for health information.

The topics included beauty, alternative medicine, mental health, weight loss and fitness.

The Pew Research study found that 57 per cent of women aged 18 to 29 said they get health and wellness information from online influencers, 10 percentage points higher than young men.

While Americans still mostly rely on healthcare providers, the research suggests social media influencers also play a major role in how young people find health advice.

Among women who get health and wellness information from influencers, 51 per cent said they often hear about beauty and appearance, compared with 18 per cent of men.

Young women were also around twice as likely as young men to say they see content about alternative medicine, meaning treatments or health practices used outside mainstream medical care.

A third or more of both young men and young women said they often hear about mental health and weight loss from influencers.

Around half or more of both groups said they often see fitness content.

When asked why they seek health and wellness information from influencers, around half of young women said they wanted to make a change to their health or lifestyle.

That compared with 37 per cent of young men.

The research also found that 23 per cent of young women said hearing from people who share their background or beliefs was one reason they used influencers, compared with 14 per cent of young men.

A further 19 per cent of young women said they learnt about things they did not want to ask their doctor, compared with 10 per cent of young men.

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