The case in summary – Children and young people are exposed to content about calories and diet on TikTok, something that can affect their relationship with food and weight.- Program host and podcaster Linnea Myhre has put a spotlight on the calorie debate on her own TikTok channel.- Marianne Clementine Håheim , head of communications for Rådgivning om eating disorders (ROS), believes the trend is problematic and that the creators of the content should take responsibility. – Personal trainer and nutritionist Monica Søyland shares videos with a focus on nutrition and diet on TikTok, but emphasizes that she does not encourage to eat less food. – Håheim from ROS is skeptical of the argument that one needs more knowledge about the calorie content of different foods, and believes that children should stop thinking of food as calories. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – I feel that there is more and more of it. There are many training profiles that publish what one must eat to lose weight or build muscle, says tenth grader Jenny Askringstad. She and her friend Ane Sandnes-Tonning often upload videos about diet and calories on TikTok. Without being interested in it. – I think it can be harmful, not everyone wants to count calories, says Ane Sandnes-Tonning. Tenth graders Jenny Askringstad and Ane Sandes-Tonning have TikTok. From time to time, they experience getting content about calories and diet. Photo: Åsne Margrete Kleiv / news Scrolling at your own risk One of the people who has cast a spotlight on the calorie debate is presenter and podcaster Linnea Myhre. She comments on the trend on her own TikTok channel. – We owe it to our children to protect them from such information for as long as possible. Programmer, author and podcaster Linnea Myhre has commented on the trend on TikTok. Here from Lindmo in 2023. Photo: Julia Marie Naglestad / news When asked about the trend, she draws on experience from her own eating disorder. She says that she was 14 years old when she learned about calories for the first time. – I had absolutely no basis for understanding and using information about calories correctly. I am not saying that everyone is affected in that way, but that one must be aware. Especially on a platform like TikTok, where there are a lot of children. They are unable to handle information in the same way as adults. How many children are on TikTok? The age limit on TikTok is 13 years. 20 percent of 9 to 11-year-olds use TikTok. 69 per cent in the age group 12 to 14 years. Over 80 percent of 15 to 18-year-olds use the app. Source: The Norwegian Media Authority, interim report of the Children and media survey 2024. Must be more aware Marianne Clementine Håheim is the professional responsible for communications for Rådgivning om eating disorders (ROS). She believes that the trend is problematic, because it focuses on numbers and details about diet that provide a basis for comparison. – We are talking about children under the age of 13 or younger. One cannot expect that they themselves will take responsibility for and assess what is harmful or not harmful content. It is not fair. Håheim believes that the creators of the content should become more aware of the responsibility they have. But do not overlook the fact that raising the age limit can be a solution. This summer, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) put forward a wish to introduce a separate age limit for social media. – We must get an age limit that I can enforce. And we must get stricter regulation of functionality and content that is clearly harmful to children, Støre told news. Willing to share knowledge Monica Søyland is a personal trainer and dietitian. On TikTok, she shares videos with a focus on nutrition and diet. She says that the message in the videos can be misunderstood if you don’t watch the video in its entirety or read the text below. Monica Søyland wants to spread knowledge about different foods. She has over ten thousand followers on TikTok, and many of the videos have been seen over several thousand times Photo: Screenshot from @monicasoyland on TikTok – My videos can provide more knowledge about different foods. I am not encouraging you to eat less food, but to make smarter choices by choosing nutritious and filling food rather than, for example, ready-made pizza and smashes, when the goal is weight loss. Håheim from ROS is skeptical of the argument that one needs more knowledge about the calorie content of various foods. – I think that there is no lack of knowledge about calories and diet in our society. One is peppered with content related to diet and weight loss everywhere every day. Children use TikTok and I think 13-year-olds should stop thinking of food as calories. Published 28.09.2024, at 20.03
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Believes that videos about calories on TikTok can lead to increased body pressure – news Vestland
