Online influencers encourage youngsters to eat more unhealthy snacks

Author: CIM MMG

Social media stars might be encouraging children to eat more unhealthy snacks, a new study suggests. The study was presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Viennafrom 23rd to 26th May 2018.

It  examined the responses of children to images from social media and found children who saw popular vloggers consuming sugary and fatty snacks went on to eat 26% more calories than those who did not.

The findings come amid calls for tougher rules on junk food advertising.

The social media stars used in the study were Zoella, who has 10.9 million followers on Instagram, and Alfie Deyes, who has 4.6 million.

Read the full BBC report here.