Topic frequency among health and wellness influencers
| Topic | Percent of posts | Percent of influencers who ever post about … |
|---|---|---|
| Fitness | 25 | 71 |
| Healthy habits | 20 | 82 |
| Nutrition | 19 | 68 |
| Medical conditions | 19 | 77 |
| Medical treatments | 14 | 68 |
| Personal appearance | 14 | 63 |
| Life experience | 11 | 75 |
| OTC medications or supplements | 11 | 66 |
| Women’s health | 8 | 48 |
| Mental health | 7 | 56 |
| Longevity | 2 | 33 |
| Health policy | 2 | 23 |
| Men’s health | 1 | 13 |
| Not health or wellness | 30 | 89 |
Note: Posts may discuss multiple health and wellness topics.
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of 535,512 Instagram, TikTok and YouTube posts published by 6,334 health and wellness influencers from February to April 2026.
“What Do Health and Wellness Influencers Post About?”
“What Do Health and Wellness Influencers Post About?”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Frequency of promotions, warnings and citations from health and wellness influencers
| Topic | Percent of posts | Percent of influencers who have ever included each in their posts |
|---|---|---|
| Promotion | 38 | 92 |
| Health warning | 11 | 66 |
| Health source citation | 9 | 60 |
Note: Posts that contain a promotion include those that recommend both paid and free products and services. Posts with a health warning contain claims that a specific health practice will cause a direct harm to physical or mental health.
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of 535,512 Instagram, TikTok and YouTube posts published by 6,334 health and wellness influencers from February to April 2026.
“What Do Health and Wellness Influencers Post About?”
“What Do Health and Wellness Influencers Post About?”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Influencers’ go-to topics
% of influencers who talk about each topic more than any other
| Topic | Percent |
|---|---|
| Multiple topics | 39 |
| Fitness | 25 |
| Nutrition | 10 |
| Mental health | 5 |
| Personal appearance | 5 |
| Medical conditions | 4 |
| Medical treatments | 4 |
| OTC medications or supplements | 3 |
| Healthy habits | 2 |
| Women’s health | 2 |
| Life experience | 1 |
| Health policy | 1 |
| Longevity | <1 |
| Men’s health | <1 |
| No topics | <1 |
Note: A topic was determined to be an influencer’s primary or go-to topic if they discussed it in 30% more posts than any other topic. Posts may discuss multiple health and wellness topics.
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of 535,512 Instagram, TikTok and YouTube posts published by 6,334 health and wellness influencers from February to April 2026.
“What Do Health and Wellness Influencers Post About?”
“What Do Health and Wellness Influencers Post About?”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Influencers’ top 2 topics
% of influencers whose two most discussed topics are …
| Topic pair | Percent |
|---|---|
| Fitness, Healthy habits | 17 |
| Healthy habits, Nutrition | 8 |
| Personal appearance, Medical treatments | 7 |
| Personal appearance, Fitness | 7 |
| Life experience, Medical conditions | 6 |
| Fitness, Nutrition | 5 |
| Medical conditions, Medical treatments | 4 |
| Medical conditions, Mental health | 3 |
| Personal appearance, OTC medications or supplements | 3 |
| Life experience, Women’s health | 2 |
| Life experience, Medical treatments | 2 |
| Healthy habits, Mental health | 2 |
| OTC medications or supplements, Nutrition | 2 |
| Medical conditions, Nutrition | 2 |
| Medical conditions, OTC medications or supplements | 2 |
| Healthy habits, Medical conditions | 2 |
| Fitness, Life experience | 2 |
| Fitness, OTC medications or supplements | 2 |
Note: A post may discuss multiple health and wellness topics. Pairs representing less than 2% of influencers are not shown.
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of 535,512 Instagram, TikTok and YouTube posts published by 6,334 health and wellness influencers from February to April 2026.
“What Do Health and Wellness Influencers Post About?”
“What Do Health and Wellness Influencers Post About?”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Frequency of product or service promotions, by post topic
% of posts that mention each topic that also promote a product or service
| Topic | Percent |
|---|---|
| All posts | 38 |
| OTC medications or supplements | 66 |
| Men’s health | 56 |
| Personal appearance | 56 |
| Nutrition | 52 |
| Longevity | 52 |
| Healthy habits | 50 |
| Women’s health | 47 |
| Fitness | 45 |
| Medical conditions | 45 |
| Mental health | 44 |
| Medical treatments | 43 |
| Life experience | 38 |
| Health policy | 29 |
| Not health or wellness | 21 |
Note: A post may discuss multiple health and wellness topics. Posts that contain a promotion include those that recommend both paid and free products and services.
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of 535,512 Instagram, TikTok and YouTube posts published by 6,334 health and wellness influencers from February to April 2026.
“What Do Health and Wellness Influencers Post About?”
“What Do Health and Wellness Influencers Post About?”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Frequency of product or service promotions, by influencer background
Among health/wellness influencers who say they are a(n) __,
% who promote a product or service in a majority of their posts
% who promote a product or service in a majority of their posts
| Influencer background | Percent |
|---|---|
| Dietician/Nutritionist | 43 |
| Complementary, alternative and integrative health | 41 |
| Author | 40 |
| Entrepreneur | 38 |
| Coach | 37 |
| Researcher | 35 |
| Allied health | 32 |
| Conventional medicine | 32 |
| No credentials | 30 |
| Mental health | 29 |
| Life experience | 26 |
| Athlete | 25 |
| Activist | 19 |
Note: Posts that contain a promotion include those that recommend both paid and free products and services. Biographic information for health and wellness influencers derived from their social media bios.
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of 535,512 Instagram, TikTok and YouTube posts published by 6,334 health and wellness influencers from February to April 2026.
“What Do Health and Wellness Influencers Post About?”
“What Do Health and Wellness Influencers Post About?”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Frequency of health warnings by topic
% of posts that warn of a specific health harm, by topic
| Topic | Percent |
|---|---|
| All posts | 11 |
| Health policy | 46 |
| Men’s health | 38 |
| Medical conditions | 31 |
| Longevity | 27 |
| Mental health | 25 |
| Medical treatments | 25 |
| OTC medications or supplements | 22 |
| Healthy habits | 21 |
| Women’s health | 20 |
| Nutrition | 17 |
| Life experience | 15 |
| Personal appearance | 10 |
| Fitness | 8 |
Note: A post may discuss multiple health and wellness topics. Posts with a health warning contain claims that a specific health practice will cause a direct harm to physical or mental health.
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of 535,512 Instagram, TikTok and YouTube posts published by 6,334 health and wellness influencers from February to April 2026.
“What Do Health and Wellness Influencers Post About?”
“What Do Health and Wellness Influencers Post About?”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Topic frequency among health and wellness influencers, by influencer background
Among health/wellness influencers who say they are a(n) __, % of posts that mention …
| Influencer background | Personal appearance | Fitness | Healthy habits | Life experience | Longevity | Medical conditions | Men’s health | Mental health | OTC medications or supplements | Not health or wellness | Nutrition | Health policy | Medical treatments | Women’s health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health professional | 15 | 20 | 22 | 11 | 3 | 25 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 23 | 20 | 2 | 24 | 11 |
| Conventional medicine | 22 | 9 | 18 | 12 | 4 | 30 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 21 | 14 | 4 | 38 | 12 |
| Allied health | 11 | 24 | 20 | 14 | 2 | 26 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 23 | 10 | 2 | 25 | 15 |
| Complementary, alternative and integrative health | 5 | 12 | 24 | 13 | 4 | 35 | 2 | 11 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 2 | 24 | 11 |
| Dietician/ Nutritionist | 10 | 26 | 34 | 11 | 3 | 22 | 0 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 52 | 2 | 9 | 14 |
| Mental health | 2 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 26 | 1 | 36 | 3 | 45 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 4 |
| Coach | 13 | 43 | 26 | 8 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 28 | 22 | 0 | 6 | 7 |
| Entrepreneur | 14 | 25 | 20 | 11 | 3 | 21 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 27 | 18 | 2 | 19 | 10 |
| Life experience | 10 | 20 | 19 | 23 | 1 | 24 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 32 | 22 | 1 | 13 | 8 |
| Author | 6 | 13 | 19 | 10 | 5 | 24 | 1 | 12 | 11 | 31 | 23 | 3 | 16 | 10 |
| Athlete | 11 | 50 | 18 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 33 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| Activist | 4 | 7 | 11 | 24 | 1 | 32 | 0 | 11 | 10 | 38 | 8 | 6 | 19 | 11 |
| Researcher | 9 | 15 | 21 | 9 | 8 | 32 | 3 | 13 | 15 | 21 | 21 | 5 | 23 | 11 |
| No credentials | 16 | 23 | 17 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 35 | 20 | 1 | 6 | 6 |
Note: A post may discuss multiple health and wellness topics. Biographic information for health and wellness influencers derived from their social media bios.
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of 535,512 Instagram, TikTok and YouTube posts published by 6,334 health and wellness influencers from February to April 2026.
“What Do Health and Wellness Influencers Post About?”
“What Do Health and Wellness Influencers Post About?”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Frequency of health warnings and external citations in posts from health and wellness influencers, by influencer background
Among health/wellness influencers who say they are a(n) __, % of posts that …
| Influencer background | Cites health sources | Health warning |
|---|---|---|
| Health professional | 13 | 16 |
| Conventional medicine | 18 | 20 |
| Allied health | 11 | 14 |
| Complementary, alternative and integrative health | 16 | 22 |
| Dietician/ Nutritionist | 12 | 14 |
| Mental health | 10 | 12 |
| Coach | 5 | 7 |
| Entrepreneur | 11 | 14 |
| Life experience | 6 | 8 |
| Author | 15 | 15 |
| Athlete | 5 | 5 |
| Activist | 10 | 14 |
| Researcher | 30 | 21 |
| No credentials | 5 | 7 |
Note: Biographic information for health and wellness influencers derived from their social media bios. Posts with a health warning contain claims that a specific health practice will cause a direct harm to physical or mental health.
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of 535,512 Instagram, TikTok and YouTube posts published by 6,334 health and wellness influencers from February to April 2026.
“What Do Health and Wellness Influencers Post About?”
“What Do Health and Wellness Influencers Post About?”
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
