A Nation Of Fit-Ocrites!
Have you ever checked in at the gym only to jog right past to the nearest coffee shop? Or posted a picture of your stunning salad, but cut out the cake that you stuffed in your face for pud? Well my fitness fabricating friend, you are not alone, because almost half of modern Brits embellish their “healthy lifestyle” on social media, according to a new study.
Researchers have revealed a generation of fit-ocrites – prone to exaggerating, or in some cases completely fabricating, how healthy they are! A third of the young adults (aged 20 – 45) polled said they tend to post more about diet and health than any other topic on social media.
However, according to the data – a staggering 14% have updated followers and friends via Twitter, Instagram or Facebook with a healthy selfie about a gym visit that NEVER actually happened. That’s as naughty as the extra portion of pavlova I sneaked onto my plate last night!
A further one in ten have uploaded a picture to Facebook or Instagram dressed head to toe in the latest gym gear – only to get changed seconds later. And a further one in five have eaten something unhealthy following uploading an image of a nutritious plate of food – admitting their diet is “nowhere near” as healthy as they make out.
While for the majority of those questioned, impressing friends and family was the key motivation, almost a quarter are attempting to emulate fit celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Jessica Alba, by posting plates of healthy food or gym selfies online. But unlike Gwyneth, who is practically a saint when it comes to what graces her digestive system, and Rosie and Jessica who hit the gym hard almost every day of the week, most of us a stretching the truth when it comes to what we broadcast, or actually just downright lying!
In fact the survey, by wow, Europe’s first chia seed drink, revealed a mere 47 minutes was the average time Brits wait to binge on something unhealthy, following posting a healthy meal picture to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
One in ten have told colleagues they jogged or cycled to work when in fact they caught the bus or train and the same number have been on a boozy night out, but left it off social media so that their followers think they are being healthy. And of those who genuinely make it for a work-out, nearly one in five said they always breathe in when taking a gym selfie and a cunning 10% always apply a flattering filter to the snap.
Pouting the lips, applying a full face of make-up, and fake tanning, were also common tricks when pulling off the perfect fitness photo. Flexing muscles and puffing the chest out are also common place, according to the results.
Some of those polled even resorted to spritzing themselves with water in order to replicate perspiration. Note to self – must try that trick next time I’m Tweeting…
But despite Brits regularly posting shots of superfood juices, two thirds said they would have no idea what a goji berry looks like and 45% admitted that they couldn’t identify quinoa, with two thirds unable to identify chia seeds.
Oliver Dickinson, co-founder of wow, told Belle About Town: “We had some really surprising and amusing results from this research, who would have thought so many people pose in their gym gear only to get changed and hop back into bed.
“What these results really show is that Brits are looking for a convenient quick fix to keep them healthy, as I think most of us would admit that we’d rather be chilling out on the sofa rather than hitting the gym sometimes.
“With that in mind, we’ve developed Europe’s first chia seed cold pressed juice, wow, to provide Brits with that much-needed health kick; a juice on the go which boosts their immune system, strengthens their bones, improves their hair, skin and nails and makes them feel amazing.”
MOST POPULAR ‘HEALTHY’ POSTS BY FIT-OCRITES
- An impressive scenery when out for a run / cycle
- New trainers
- A superfood salad
- A smoothie / juice
- Gym gear
- Bike / other sports equipment
- Protein drink
- A screenshot of the steps you have walked
- A shot of a running app
- Your sweaty face / body
- A picture of the gym you attend
- A shot displaying the calories you have burned
- A shot of you lifting weights or stretching
- Your tummy / abs
- Biceps
