Several studies have been done to examine the effects of fitspiration on body image satisfaction using social comparison theory but there has yet to be a study done using framing theory to find out what exactly these images are focusing on. This research will use framing theory to examine what characteristics and body types are being seen on Instagram under the hashtag “fitspiration”. Using a mixed method approach, this study uses a textual analysis to first get a larger sample set of fitspiration images on Instagram. It then uses in-depth interviews to get a deeper understanding of what the general public thinks the main frames of fitspiration are. Results for this research found that the social media trend emphasizes a stronger and more health-focused ideal and a strong sense of health and/or fitness behind the frames of each image. With the increased use of social media starting at such a young age it is important to understand the culture of popular trends in order to evaluate how we are interacting with them. Previous research focused on the outcome as opposed to the origin of the issue. This research gives a sample of the fitspiration culture in order to help us start to understand the trends of health and fitness online.

The purpose of the present study was to gain knowledge and understanding on fitspiration, itsbody ideal perception and exercise behaviour in a sample of young adults who are exercisers, daily social media usersand also fitspiration followers. To that end, semi-structured interviews were carried out to gather information from eight young adult exercisers (M = 22.5, SD =3.5 years). Thematic analysis (TA; Braun & Clarke, 2006) was used to analyse the data. The results were divided into three parts, 1) perception of fitspiration which has three main themes: Fitspiration as a tool that supports healthy behaviour, Untrustworthy fitspirational content, and Negative outcome on emotional well-being. 2) Fitspiration’s body ideal perception, which consists of one main theme: Unrealistic body ideals. 3) And lastly exercise behaviour in relation to viewing fitspirational content and has also one main theme: Inappropriate fitness goals. In summary, viewing fitspirational content on social media can provide young adults with information and motivation that supports healthy lifestyle behaviours like exercising. However, negative feelings appeared to arise from fitspiration viewing which may have an effect on psychological well-being. Although body ideals shown through fitspiration were perceived as unrealistic, the content seemed to adversely affect our participant’s fitness goals and determination. / Syftet med denna studien var att få kunskap och förståelse om fitspiration, uppfattning av fitspirations kroppsideal och träningsbeteende i ett urval av unga vuxnasom är motionärer, daglig användare av sociala medier och även anhängare av fitspiration. Semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomfördesför att samla information av åtta unga vuxna motionärer (M = 22,5, SD = 3,5 år). Tematisk analys (TA; Braun & Clarke, 2006)användes för att analysera data-information. Resultaten delades in i tre kategorier, 1) uppfattning av fitspiration som har tre huvudteman: Fitspiration som ett fenomen som stöder hälsosamt beteende, opålitlig fitspirations källa och negativ resultat på emotionellt välbefinnande. 2) Uppfattning av fitspirations kroppsideal som består av ett huvudtema; Orealistiska kroppsideal. 3) Och slutligen träningsbeteende i samband med att titta på fitspirations innehåll, som har huvudteman; Olämpliga träningsmål. Sammanfattningsvis kan fitspirations innehåll på sociala medier ge unga vuxna information och motivation som stöder hälsosamma beteenden, som att träna. Men negativa känslor upplevdes uppstå genom att titta på fitspirations inlägg som kan ha en inverkan på psykologiskt välbefinnande. Vidare, även om fitspirations kroppsideal upplevdes som orealistiska, innehållet verkar ha en roll i deltagarnas träningsmål och determination.

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abstract: The promulgation of the thin-ideal is associated with bulimia, dieting, supplement use, negative affect, and body dissatisfaction. “Fitspiration” was created as an “antidote” to the thin-ideal through the promotion of healthy eating and exercise; however, research indicates Fitspiration continues to promote the thin-ideal with similarly detrimental outcomes. Recently, research has shifted from a focus on body disturbance to concepts of positive body image (Halliwell, 2015), often researched through the concept of body appreciation. While the research is limited, a few studies have shown increases in body appreciation and mood after viewing body positive images. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to experimentally examine the impact of exposure to body positive and Fitspiration Instagram images on the body satisfaction, body appreciation, and mood of undergraduate women. Participants were 98 female undergraduate students (18-29 years old) currently attending Arizona State University. Participants were randomly assigned to view Fitspiration, Body Positive, or appearance neutral Instagram images. Dependent variables of state body appreciation, state body dissatisfaction, and state mood were measured using Visual Analogue Scales. Trait thin-ideal internalization, trait social comparison, and body mass index (BMI) were included as covariates. Qualitative short-answer questions were included as an exploratory aim. A one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to examine group differences in post-test scores followed by post-hoc analyses using the Bonferroni correction when significant. After controlling for baseline score, trait thin-ideal internalization, trait social comparison, and BMI, post-test body appreciation scores within Fitspiration condition were significantly lower than the control (MD= 9.818, SE=3.743, p=.031) and Body Positive condition (MD=9.372, SE=3.492, p=0.26). After controlling for baseline score, trait thin-ideal internalization, trait social comparison, and BMI, the Body Positive condition demonstrated significantly higher post-test body satisfaction scores than the control (MD= 11.134, SE=3.093, p=.002) and Fitspiration condition (MD=17.312, SE=3.092, p=<.001). After controlling for baseline scores, mean post-test positive mood scores within the Fitspiration group were significantly lower than the Body Positive condition (MD=-0.378, SE=.135, p=.019). There were no differences in post-test negative mood across conditions. Findings suggest short-term exposure to body positive images may improve body appreciation, Body Positivity, and positive mood among undergraduate females. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Exercise and Wellness 2020

Syfte och frågeställningar  Fitspiration är en ny sociala medie trend som består av bilder, citat, text och råd som syftar till att uppmuntra följarna till fysisk aktivitet och hälsosamma levnadsvanor. I den här studien undersöks eventuella samband mellan konsumering av fitspiration och kroppsuppfattning/utseendeångest hos kvinnor som studerar eller har (inom de senaste två åren) studerat idrott- och folkhälsovetenskap. I samma population undersöks om motivation till fysisk aktivitet skiljer sig mellan de som följer och inte följer fitspiration, samt skillnader beroende på hur ofta innehållet konsumeras. Även den subjektiva påverkan på motivation till fysisk aktivitet hos följare till fitspiration undersöks.  Metod  Deltagarna kontaktades via inlägg i elva facebookgrupper med totalt N=1822  medlemmar som studerar eller har studerat på Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan (GIH). I inlägget bifogades en webbaserad enkät. Enkäten är en sammanställning av frågor från enkäterna; AAI (Veale et al., 2014), EDE-Q (Fairburn &amp; Beglin, 1994), MPAM-R (Frederick &amp; Ryan, 1993; Ryan et al., 1997) samt några egenkonstruerade frågor. Enkäten samlades in efter en tvåveckorsperiod och datan behandlades i programmet SPSS. Resultat  N=85 kvinnor deltog i studien. Inget signifikant samband mellan konsumeringen av fitspiration och utseendeångest/kroppsuppfattning hittades. Vidare hittades inga signifikanta skillnader i motiv till fysisk aktivitet vid jämförelse mellan de som följer och inte följer fitspiration, samt hur ofta fitspiration konsumeras. En majoritet av de som följer fitspiration uppgav att innehållet motiverar dem till fysisk aktivitet. Slutsats  De icke signifikanta sambanden mellan fitspiration och utseendeångest/kroppsuppfattning går emot slutsatser från tidigare forskning på området. Mer forskning behövs för att kunna klargöra om fitspiration motiverar till fysisk aktivitet samt om det finns skillnader i motiv bakom fysisk aktivitet hos dem som följer jämfört med dem som inte följer fitspiration. / Aim  Fitspiration is a new social media trend that consists of pictures, quotes, text and advice that aims to encourage followers to physical activity and healthy lifestyles. This study examines the possible correlations between consumption of fitspiration and body perception/ appearance anxiety in women who study or have studied sports and public health science. In the same population, we investigate whether motivation for physical activity differs between those who follow and do not follow fitspiration, as well as differences depending on how often you consume the content. The subjective influence on motivation for physical activity in followers of fitspiration is also examined. Method  The participants were contacted via posts in 11 Facebook groups with a total of N=1822 members who study or have studied at GIH. A web-based survey was attached to the post. The survey is a compilation of questions from the surveys; AAI (Veale et al., 2014), EDE-Q (Fairburn &amp; Beglin, 1994), MPAM-R (Frederick &amp; Ryan, 1993; Ryan et al., 1997) and some self-constructed questions. The questionnaire was collected after a two-week period and the data was processed in the program SPSS. Results  N=85 women participated in the study. No significant associations between the consumption of fitspiration and appearance anxiety/ body perception was found. Furthermore, no significant differences were found in motives for physical activity when comparing those who follow and do not follow fitspiration, and how often fitspiration is consumed. A majority of those who follow fitspiration stated that the content motivates them to physical activity. Conclusions  The non significant association between fitspiration and appearance anxiety/body perception goes against conclusions from previous research in the field. More research is needed to be able to clarify whether fitspiration motivates physical activity and whether there are differences in motives behind physical activity whether or not you follow fitspiration.

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<p>Fitspiration (also known as fitspo) is a popular online trend particularly on Instagram and is often credited for the rapid growth of contemporary fitness culture and the fitness industry in general. This dissertation evaluates the central thesis that fitspiration messages may have utility in health promotion by influencing muscle-strengthening exercise behavior among viewers and that this influence can be explained, in part, through the application of social cognitive theory’s (SCT) framework for health behaviors. These potential effects were examined among a population of emerging adults (i.e., 18 – 25 years of age) in the context of (1) encouraging the adoption of muscle-strengthening exercise behavior among individuals who have never performed such exercises before and (2) increasing and/or sustaining adherence among those who have but may not be doing so regularly.</p><p>Using a 2 x 2 between-subjects experiment involving 315 undergraduate students at Purdue University, this study was guided by two research aims. Research Aim 1 was to further understand the mechanisms through which fitspiration messages could influence exercise behavior by examining the structural paths of influence between core constructs within the SCT framework. Research Aim 2 sought to examine the effects of specific fitspiration message features on the SCT determinants of exercise behavior.</p><p>This study extends SCT in several ways. First, this study provides support for conceptualizing self-efficacy as a multidimensional construct and that different types of self-efficacy influence exercise behavior differently. Second, the findings in this study assessed the mediational pathways within the SCT framework when conceptualizing self-efficacy and outcome expectations multidimensionally.</p><p>Although the manipulations in this study did not produce significant findings in terms of the effects of fitspiration message features, the findings do suggest that these effects occur in subtle ways that warrant further examination in future studies.</p>

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This paper will dive into the topic of fitspiration on SNS and the effects it has on people’s subjective well-being. Fitspiration is a common type of content that is widely spread across multiple platforms, especially on Instagram. This content is often posted by fit people that share content regarding exercising or diets. Previous research has demonstrated that people have an inner desire to compare themselves to others on SNS which might have effects on people’s well-being. Therefore, this paper aims to find out how users perceive fitspiration on SNS as well as the perceived influence it has on their subjective well-being when comparing themselves to others. By using a qualitative approach where focus groups were conducted, empirical data was collected which could provide a deep understanding of the topic. The findings could conclude that fitspiration was perceived as unrealistic and exposing users to body ideals and unachievable perfection. Regarding effects on the user's subjective well-being, fitspiration has both positive and negative outcomes. The positive outcomes were especially associated with inspiration, while the negative effects were predominantly related to body image and self-esteem. The reason why they would be affected negatively or positively, would depend on to whom they would compare, how they were feeling at that specific time or if they would compare their appearance or their performance. Future research could look at different types and features of fitspiration content, how people engage with it and why, to see if it would affect user’s perceived well-being in different ways. Moreover, this paper confirms that fitspiration might promote negative experiences for users, why future studies could investigate how these experiences could be prevented or decreased.