ASPO Abstracts
Cancer-related Nutrition and Meal Planning Content on Pinterest
Category: Behavioral Science & Health Communication
Conference Year: 2021
Abstract Body:
Purpose: The Internet is an increasingly popular source for recipes, dietary advice and
nutrition information. Specialized dietary information for cancer patients is prevalent, but little
is known about the scope and characteristics of online nutrition and recipe content tailored
for cancer patients. We describe cancer-related nutrition and meal planning content on
Pinterest, a popular social medium for recipe sharing.
Methods: In June 2020, a random sample of 103 "pins†was selected and analyzed. Pins
were identified using simple search phrases (e.g., "recipes for cancerâ€). Each pin was coded
for 58 variables including pinner characteristics (e.g. individual, business), general
descriptors (e.g. type of image, audience target), health claims (e.g. reduces/treats cancer)
and presence of a disclaimer. Coding was undertaken by two independent coders (k=0.74).
Descriptive and bi-variate statistics were calculated to describe the pin characteristics.
Results: Cancer-related nutrition and recipe content was most commonly shared by
individuals (67%) and businesses (21.4 %). Nearly half (48%) of content sites were for-profit
and 34% were selling a product on the page. Health claims were common, with sites
claiming to prevent (41.8%) or treat cancer (27.2%), specifically mentioning antioxidants,
anti-inflammatory foods, herbs, macro and micro-nutrients. Claims regarding the alleviation
of certain cancer-treatment related symptoms were less common overall (<24%). Although,
most pins did not contain citations (63%), academic sources were sometimes used to
legitimize claims. The majority of cancer prevention claims (78%) and treatment claims
(52%) cited academic sources (both p<0.01). Only 36% of claims had a health-related
disclaimer.
Conclusions: Recipe and nutrition content related to cancer is common online. Sites make a
variety of health claims, often without a disclaimer, which may influence dietary choices
during treatment and lead to cancer patient confusion. Understanding the scope and
characteristics of online cancer nutrition content may support the development of more
informed nutritional counseling for the modern cancer patient. Given our findings,
interventions to promote nutrition/eHealth literacy in this population may be warranted.
Keywords: Social Media, Nutrition