Dangerous truth about Instagram influencers

Go to any typical inner-city suburb of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or Perth, and you'll spot a familiar sight — women and men wearing the latest designer athleisure gear, perhaps toting a freshly cold press green juice and walking towards their hot Bikram yoga class.

Health and wellness in 2019 isn't just about eating better and getting fitter, but being seen to be doing that; it's a 21st status symbol that's driven by likes and clicks and bragging rights over how many food groups we're excluding any given week or which organic mud face mask we brought.

But while we're pumping billions of dollars into everything from personalised vitamin subscriptions to edible clay, this doesn't necessarily mean that we're getting any healthier.

Nathan Baldwin, an accredited practising dietitian, says much of the current crop of "wellness" products and diets being sold, especially by social media influencers, simply don't have the evidence to back up their claims, news.com.au reports.

"I'm sure no influencer sets out to hurt anyone, but they're also much less informed than the health professionals who have done the research and understand the science behind what actually works and what doesn't," he said.

"I can understand why people take these things up, though, as we're all leading busy, stressful lives and for a lot of people, they just want a quick fix.

"If they follow and respect an influencer, they'll be willing to give it a try."

We've moved away from simply going to the gym, eating lots of vegetables and fruit and maybe getting a massage now and then; health and wellness has blurred into a host of questionable but enviable products and services.

There's a reusable water bottle that has crystals inside which claims to "purify the mind", "clears negative thoughts" and "promotes unconditional self-love" — all for just $185.68.

There's also "energy-conductive adhesive disks" — AKA stickers — that claim to "rebalance the human body and restore systemic deficiencies," all for just $52 for a pack of six.

And don't forget the vitamins ... for your hair, or your "Earthing" throw blanket, which, for $240, will help connect you to "Earth's natural energies".

And if it doesn't offer any actual benefit? Well, at least we look good.

There's good news, though — as a country, we are indeed getting healthier.

But it isn't necessarily linked to the current wellness crazy; it seems that old-fashioned changes in diet, ditching the cigarettes and moderate increase in exercise is responsible.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's 2018 report, we're living longer than ever (the third best for any OECD country) and the majority of Australian adults consider themselves to be in good, and even "excellent" health.

However, obesity, mental health issues and diabetes remain at epidemic proportions, but those problems aren't the focus of most wellness brands.

For experts such as dietitians and doctors, there is frustration about our misdirected approach and spending habits.

Professor Nikki Ellis, a public health advocate, says that people concerned about their health should seek "evidence-based" approaches to improving their health, rather than celebrity endorsements.

"I think people will become more aware about evidence-based healthcare; current academic research shows that only about 60 per cent of the healthcare we consume has strong evidence that it works," she said.

The wellbeing industry has exploded in recent years to become worth an eye-watering $4.2 trillion worldwide.

In just three years, it grew 6.4 per cent, which is double that of the global economy.

It's been helped by a perfect storm of attractive young Instagram influencers, food trends such as paleo, keto, gluten-free and sugar-free, plus the massive increase in aesthetically-pleasing leggings and designer runners that has made gym gear increasingly stylish.

Like any trend, there are people who take it further than most.

The Times recently profiled four extreme wellness warriors, one of whom fills in a daily spreadsheet with his weight, urine pH, REM sleep and activity levels.

Another drank shots of activated charcoal and another uses a $326 "HumanCharger" that "shines light into my ear to give me energy".

And Gwyneth Paltrow's popular but much-maligned Goop has produced more than its fair share of dubious products with 24 carat gold price tags.

Its infamous vagina jade eggs resulted in the company being fined $US145,000 for making false claims over their benefits.

As you can imagine, those who indulge in this extreme interest in health are rich. Because to do so, you have to be.

While wealthier people are usually healthier because they can afford medical visits and healthy diets, this heightened level of wellness drives a more divisive class divide.

The Australian Institute of Health and Wellness says there is a "clear connection" between someone's socio-economic status and their health.

Funnily, there's no mention of charcoal toothpaste or bee acupuncture, which involves being stung with bees — on purpose.

Even though there's a firm difference between what works and what doesn't, marketing magic, celebrity endorsements and dubious claims can easily confuse even the most cynical of us.

Baldwin says that many of these new-era products and diets are simply more tempting than working on changing our behaviour in what we eat and how often we exercise, because that involves significantly more work.

"Our business as dietitians is to help people, although we're not nearly as good as the marketing and reaching people with our messages as influencers are," he said, adding that regulation needs to be strengthened to ensure that consumers are aware of what qualifications someone has, and the research behind their sales pitches.

The wellness craze isn't all vampire facials or sweat creams (lotions that claim to help your body sweat more, and thus lose weight) — there have been some genuine changes.

A 2017 Deloittes study revealed that some of the biggest food and beverage companies were reformulating some of the products to be healthier; for example, 12 per cent lowered the salt or sugar in their products in recent years, and there has been an increase in label transparency.

Plus, workplaces are increasingly implementing wellness programs for their employees.

With predictions that Australians will continue to ditch cigarettes and up our intake of vegetables and fruit, Australians are on track to continue to improve our health.

And while a water bottle filled with crystals might not do anything but look pretty, it could be creating a positive placebo effect that helps motivate us to make other positive, and effective, changes in our lives, Baldwin said.

Results or not, there's no cooling in our appetite for trying to buy wellness — and look good while doing so.

According to Vogue Australia, some of the wellness trends for 2019 include "slow flowers" (buy flowers grown locally, not flown in from overseas or interstate), food with added nutrients to aid longevity and brain health, and mushrooms being added to everything from coffee to skin care.

Just don't stick any mushrooms inside any orifices, even if Gwyneth tells you to.