Experts slam fitspo 'gurus' and models with no qualifications

Be wary of the advice you take from some fitness accounts on social media. Photo / Getty Images

Chances are, your Instagram feed is littered with photos of toned, attractive fitness "gurus" wearing skimpy bikinis and spruiking various programs and products.

But Australian diet and fitness experts have issued a blunt warning for the thousands of followers of these social media stars.

According to former The Biggest Loser trainer Tiffiny Hall, who has worked in the fitness industry for two decades, gullible consumers are being conned by bloggers who claim to be health and fitness experts but who actually have no qualifications.

Ms Hall, who is a qualified personal trainer with a Certificate III and IV in Fitness and a Diploma of Sport Coaching with a specialisation in martial arts, told A Current Affair she hated to see people fork out "good money for bad advice".

She told the program she was correcting misinformation dished out by unqualified fitness models through her own wildly successful Instagram account.

"I am in it, I am real, and I'm taking my members along on a journey in a really honest way, which I thinks important," she told A Current Affair.

"I'm asked questions in the Facebook community all day, all sorts of questions, and I'm able to respond. It makes me angry and I am fixing that bad advice."

The mum-of-one works with accredited dietitians and psychologists to develop her own programs.

"I think it takes a team of experts to put a program like this together," Hall said.

"It takes 10,000 hours to become and expert, not 10,000 selfies."

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Working on them booty gains 😜 @peachessports

A post shared by KALI BURNS (@kaliburns) on Jan 22, 2018 at 11:46am PST

Qualified dietitian Alex Parker also told the show a lot of health information passed off as fact on social media was actually based on opinions.

"If they've got a strong focus on specific nutrients or they're really obsessing over particular foods, that's a big red flag to look out for," she said.

"I think it is very dangerous and I think that the sort of programs that these 'influencers', or higher profile social media people are touting are quite appealing because they offer amazing, almost too good to be true results."

The program referenced Australian fitspo stars Kali Burns and Beck Lomas, who both sell fitness programs to their many thousands of social media followers.

However, while Ms Burns describes herself as a personal trainer and health enthusiast, she did not respond to the program's request for more information regarding her qualifications.

And when reporters asked fitness blogger Ms Lomas whether she had any formal qualifications, she said: "Yes and no."