It appears on my feed! Differences in intentionality of fitspiration exposure by weight/shape concerns, disordered eating, and self-compassion in women.

Viewing fitspiration (fitness inspiration) has been found to increase body dissatisfaction and negative affect; however, minimal research has examined how body dissatisfaction and related variables differ based on intentionality of fitspiration exposure. This study's aim was to examine differences in levels of weight/shape concerns, disordered eating, and self-compassion according to type of fitspiration exposure. Participants included 234 female undergraduate students who completed online questionnaires. We created three groups of fitspiration exposure based on their self-report of Instagram exposure: unexposed (neither view nor post fitspiration; n = 43), incidentally exposed (report seeing fitspiration content unintentionally; n = 119), and intentionally exposed (intentionally view and/or post fitspiration; n = 72). Weight/shape concerns, disordered eating, and self-compassion were significantly worse in the intentionally exposed group and incidentally exposed group compared to the unexposed group. These results suggest that exposure to fitspiration, regardless of intention, may be problematic and should be limited.

The impact of a values affirmation intervention on body dissatisfaction and negative mood in women exposed to fitspiration.

Fitspiration (fitness inspiration) exposure on Instagram has been associated with body dissatisfaction, but minimal research has investigated interventions to protect against its negative effects. Values affirmation interventions, in which individuals reflect on a higher value to affirm their sense of personal worth, could be helpful in this context. This online study's aim was to examine the impact of a values affirmation intervention on body dissatisfaction and negative mood in women exposed to fitspiration images from Instagram. Participants consisted of 238 female college students (Age M = 19.89, SD = 1.25) in the U.S. who were randomized into three groups: Values Affirmation Intervention + Fitspiration (described importance of top value and viewed fitspiration images), Control Intervention + Fitspiration (described their daily activities and viewed fitspiration images), and Travel (control-viewed travel images only). State body dissatisfaction and negative mood were completed pre- and post-exposure for all groups. Body dissatisfaction and negative mood significantly increased in the Control Intervention + Fitspiration, did not change in the Values Affirmation Intervention + Fitspiration group, and decreased in the Travel group from pre-exposure to post-exposure. These findings suggest that a values affirmation intervention could partially protect college women from the negative effects of fitspiration exposure.