Social media offers great opportunities to share evidence-based and engaging content on nutrition and health. At the same time, however, it also facilitates the rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation. While scientific understanding of how diet affects health and the environment is constantly evolving, key findings – such as the health benefits of fruit, vegetables and whole grains – have long been regarded as established and are continually reinforced by new studies. Such reliable messages, however, often lack news value. On social media, they therefore often receive less attention than sensationalist, scientifically unfounded or simply false claims about supposed miracle cures. Misinformation and disinformation surrounding nutrition is thus a growing societal problem that FOOD-FRAMES is addressing.
In the FOOD-FRAMES project, 10 partner institutions from seven countries are pooling their expertise in psychology, nutritional science, public health, law, economics, and media and political research. The aim is to shape a so-called ‘nutrition information environment’ that supports healthy and sustainable eating across Europe – for example, through policy recommendations and legal frameworks that counteract misleading marketing, misinformation and disinformation.
At the University of Bayreuth, the team led by Chair of Public Health Nutrition Prof. Dr Peter von Philipsborn, is conducting a so-called ‘Photovoice’ study: in this study, young social media users in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands use their own photographs to document how they experience and perceive the digital food environment. In addition, the Bayreuth team is conducting an interview study with nutrition influencers to understand their motivations, experiences and contractual conditions, as well as their views on better regulation. The University of Bayreuth is also using apps to investigate the extent to which young people aged between 13 and 18 are exposed to marketing for unhealthy foods. The Bayreuth team is also contributing to a systematic review and an international Delphi study, which aim to identify effective measures against nutrition-related misinformation and disinformation.
“Nutrition is a topic that people care deeply about – which is precisely why there is so much false and misleading information circulating online about it,” explains Prof. Dr Peter von Philipsborn. “With FOOD-FRAMES, we want to gain a better understanding of how young people deal with this misinformation, what consequences this has for their health – and how we can better protect them from it.”
In addition to the University of Bayreuth, the project involves Wageningen University (coordinator), University College Cork, the University of Vienna, Ghent University, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, the University of Southern Denmark, the University of Pisa, Sciensano and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. The project will run for a total of three years, until July 2029.
FOOD-FRAMES is funded by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Home Affairs (BMLEH) and other national funding bodies in the participating countries, with co-funding from the European Union as part of the European FutureFoodS partnership. On the German side, the project is managed by the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE, grant reference 2826ERA18B). The key factors in the decision to award funding included, the scientific excellence of the project and its expected benefits in terms of promoting healthy and sustainable diets.
