Fit or Fake?
Nowadays influencers are everywhere, their videos are widespread on all social media
platforms: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube… They become lifestyle authorities: they try throughout
their content to impose on the audience how to live, what to eat, and how to look. They often
tend to present themselves as advocates of empowerment, fitness, and self-love, but their
language tells a different story. While scrolling in the feed “for you page,” it becomes clear how
their captions and speech weren’t just motivational, they were persuasive tools that shaped how
women think about their bodies and self-worth. Many of these messages, though disguised as
empowering, push unrealistic body expectations and commercial agendas. Although social media
influencers often present themselves as champions of women empowerment and positive body
image, they may promote harmful health trends, contribute to damaged mental health, and
prioritize economic profit under the guise of empowerment.
Social media influencers often reinforce narrow ideals of beauty and persuade their
followers to engage in risky health practices by presenting them as necessary for being “fit” or
“worthy.” But the main danger is that all these acts are promoted without providing enough
discourse on the negative impacts of it. One example noticed this by watching many influencers
as Remi Bader and Stella Kittler are promoting drugs to lose weight, such as Ozempic which is a
drug initially designed for people with type 2 diabetes. Instead of referring to it as a prescription
medication with serious side effects: stomach problems, kidney failure, they frame it as a “game-
changer” or a “body transformation secret,” using casual and uplifting language to normalize its
use (Mellen, 2025; Upton Clark, 2024). This convincing tone masks the drug’s health risks and
promotes the illusion that it’s just another fitness hack.
Another common strategy observed by influencers like Reina Aris is glorifying over exercising
paired with restrictive diet plans (low calorie diets, low carbohydrates…) as a part of healthy
lifestyle. Words like "no excuses," or "clean eating is self-respect" are commonly shared by
influencers, persuading women that physical exhaustion and deprivation are indicators of
discipline and self-love. Yet, conforming to such restrictive recommendations, such as
consuming fewer than 1,200 calories per day, can actually be dangerous to the body, resulting in
persistent problems, fatigue, and hormonal imbalance (Livestrong, n.d.; Edmonds, 2011).
Waist trainers are another example where influencers use biased language that proclaims
physical discomfort. Various posts are posted by Kim Kardashian Nicki Minaj & Cardi B where
they refer to wearing these very tight corset-like trainer as a “confidence boost” or a “quick fix.”
These trainers are worn for several hours just to obtain “hourglass body shape” which is the
perfect body shape from the influencers’ perspective. That’s how a harmful beauty tool is turned
into a supposed self-love item. According to London (2021), this trend continues with more than
a million Instagram post persuading their audience with slogans like “snatched for summer,”
even though medical professionals have raised red flags about their safety.
All these examples show how the discourse around fitness is shaped by terms that twist reality
and pressure women into equating pain or restriction with beauty under the guise of “beauty is
pain.”
Many influencers claim to help women boosting their self-esteem and confidence in the
way they look and feel, but their message often does the opposite. Their tendency to rely on
emotional personal stories like “I used to cry looking at the mirror” or “I hated my body until I
discovered this” to manipulate emotional vulnerability. These narratives are nothing more than
strategies to boost their content as well as fostering toxic comparison.
Influencers frequently use phrases like "reset challenge" or "fuel your goals" to classify
determinal activities as wellness. This is how they are reframing pressure as self-care, making it
harder for women to recognize the toxicity underneath. As noted by Cleveland Clinic (2023), this
type of messaging can fuel body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), making followers feel broken
unless they match certain aesthetic standards. BDD is one the most common mental health
conditions caused the influencers unrealistic content. People with this disorder will believe that
something is going wrong in the way they look even if others can’t see it. Teenager girls suffer
from this disorder by seeing themselves as fat even if they were too skinny, which leads to
anxiety and less confidence encouraging them to follow unhealthy and harmful practices. This is
proved by Dr. Bryne’s claims: “Everyone is prone to concerns about their appearance,” “20% of
the time, patients are with BDD” (Dr. Bryne as cited in Cleveland Clinic, 2023)
It is also observed how influencers use language exploits insecurities while pretending to uplift.
Their discourse belittles natural body types and insists that the change is the only pathway for
confidence, as example “become the best version of yourself,” “it is time for a glow up.”
Building on Edmonds’ (2011) findings, it is clear that all this reinforces a damaging belief that
beauty equals control, and any form of softness, aging, or weight gain is a failure.
Instead of promoting true self-acceptance, influencers convince women that they’re only worthy
once they’ve been “fixed.”
The use of social media to achieve economic gain is even more concerning, influencers
embrace feminist language as a persuasive tool to sell products. Phrases like “spoil yourself and
buy this.” “love yourself enough to change” might sound empowering, but they are often
associated with affiliate links and product promotion. As Pick (2025) highlights, this strategy is
known as “strategic authenticity” and used to make commercial content appear as genuine
encouragement.
Fitness brands often collaborate with influencers who appear relatable and engaging, especially
women who speak in a friendly, “girl-to-girl” tone. Discount codes like “WS10” or
“WhitneyXGymshark” for influencers as Whitney Simmons are paired with captions such as
“Treat yourself princess” or “Invest in your body.” These posts blur the line between
encouragement and persuasion, they are not just selling products, but also the illusion of
empowerment.
The issue is not only about the content itself, but it concerns the lack of transparency. Some
influencers do not clearly disclose paid partnerships, and use emotional tone and stories to
describe the product, which creates the impression that the given advice is heartfelt and helpful.
Hund (2024) argues that the influencer industry lacks ethical guidelines, which leaves room for
emotional exploitation.
Eventually, this kind of discourse persuades women to equate self-love with spending,
reinforcing the idea that wellness and beauty are things that must be bought.
Thus, it is evident that fitness influencers have a significant impact on how modern
women perceive their own value, health, and appearance. Even when their messages appear to
reinforce empowerment, they frequently rely on emotional manipulation and unrealistic ideals
that pressure women to change themselves. Moreover, these influencers are replacing
individuality with one specific image of what a “fit” or “beautiful” woman should look like,
using persuasive language that promotes body insecurity under the disguise of wellness.
Nowadays, social media has become a dominant voice in defining beauty standards, which is
why recognizing and questioning the discourse used by influencers is essential to reduce their
harmful impact on women’s mental and physical well-being.
References:
[1]: Pick, L. D. (2025). A mixed-method examination of social media influencers’ source
characteristics in sponsored health campaign messaging: An application of psychological
reactance theory (Order No. 31996980). ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/mixed-method-examination-social-media-
influencers/docview/3195355022/se-2
[2]: Mellen, C. (2025, April 16). Ozempic for weight loss: Side effects, vs. Wegovy, and more.
Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/drugs/ozempic-for-weight-loss
[3]: Upton Clark, E. (2024, October 28). A growing network of influencers are pushing
Ozempic. Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/91217366/a-growing-network-
of-influencers-are-pushing-ozempic
[4]: Edmonds, M. (2011, August 5). 5 health problems caused by being too thin. HowStuffWorks.
https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/weight-loss/5-health-problems-
caused-by-being-thin.htm
[5]: London, L. (2021, January 8). How The What Waist Trainer Outlived The Instagram Trend.
Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/lelalondon/2021/01/08/how-the-what-waist-trainer-
outlived-the-instagram-trend/
[6]: Hund, E. (2024, May 1). Why the influencer industry needs guardrails: And how to
professionalize a maturing practice. Harvard Business Review.
https://hbr.org/2024/05/why-the-influencer-industry-needs-guardrails
[7]: Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials. (2023, July 21). How social media impacts body image.
Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/social-media-and-body-image
[8]: Livestrong. (n.d.). Negative side effects of eating less than 1,200 calories a day. Livestrong
https://www.livestrong.com/article/518807-negative-side-effects-of-eating-less-than-1-
200-calories-a-day/
