AbstractsMedical & Health Science

This study examined the use of social networking sites (SNS) as tools for weight management in college students (n=1138), as well as the perceived credibility of these sites as information sources. An anonymous, online, self-administered questionnaire was emailed to 10,000 random students, both undergraduate and graduate, to examine their SNS use for weight management information. They also were asked about their perceived credibility of SNS as an information source, the types of weight management-related search keywords used on SNS, their posting and browsing habits, and their perceptions about social support available on SNS. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze demographics and total SNS usage. Fisher’s exact tests were used to examine gender and age differences in SNS usage, and independent t-tests were used to examine gender differences between perceived credibility, search keywords, posting and browsing habits, and social support perceptions. Two-thirds (n=739) of participants reported using SNS to access weight management information. Female college students were more likely to be Instagram and Pinterest users (p=0.001), while male college students were more likely to be Twitter users (p=0.01). There were no gender differences in Facebook usage. The most frequently searched keywords on SNS pertained to healthy recipes and exercise information. Forty-six percent of participants reported that weight management information on SNS was trustworthy, and there were no gender differences in perceived credibility. There were no gender differences in posting and browsing habits and perceptions on social support.