Introduction
Chronic illnesses are the leading cause of death in the contemporary period. Sedentary lifestyle is the main cause of the majority of chronic illnesses including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and obesity (Park et al., 2020). According to Hall et al. (2021), more than half of the world’s population maintains a sedentary lifestyle, rendering it among the most significant but inadequately tackled public health issues today. Moreover, physical inactivity promotes cigarette use and unhealthy nutrition, which considerably contribute to the increase of the illnesses listed above. Conversely, health development promotes healthy living since excellent wellbeing enables individuals to realize their full potential. Due to these advantages, several influencers utilize social media to influence and push their followers to adopt a healthy lifestyle. They dominate the actions and emotions of their audience by persuading and transforming their followers’ viewpoints to embrace healthy living (Jin et al., 2019). Tony Horton, Anita Herbert, and Jillian Michaels use social media to persuade their followers that adopting a healthy lifestyle is essential to human development and well-being since it improves people’s mental health, enhances their performance, and reduces their health problems.
Tony Horton
Tony Horton, formally known as Anthony Sawyer Horton Jr., is an American personal trainer, author, and former actor. Tony Horton is the immensely successful developer of the best-selling fitness programs P90X®, P90X2®, P90X3®, and Ten Minute Trainer®, as well as his 22-Minute military-inspired exercise, 22 Minute Hard Corps® (Horton, 2022). On Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, Anthony Sawyer Horton Jr. uses the handle @tonyshorton, which has more than 262,000 followers. The typical reader of this profile is between the ages of 25 and 34. In his postings, Anthony Sawyer Horton Jr. discusses human development as fitness and lifestyle, encouraging healthy living via exercise and an adequate diet. In addition, Anthony Sawyer Horton Jr. believes that true and permanent change is possible when one adopts a healthy lifestyle. He opines that exercise, nutritious meals, and a positive mentality are the recipe for a vital, productive, and fulfilling life for anybody who strives to be the best they can be.
Horton boosted his strength and physique by adhering to a vegan diet of nutritious, complete foods that omitted maize, wheat, soy, dairy, and meat, along with regular exercises and a work ethic that matched those half his age. Tony advises his followers to use a range of bodybuilding-friendly meals, and he illustrates that he likes nuts as a snack and consumes his Shakeology between lunch and supper. Horton always emphasizes the importance of proper nutrition in achieving fitness and health objectives. Recently, he announced that he is experimenting with a plant-based diet with health advantages. In his Instagram posts, Horton advocates and encourages the consumption and preparation of plant-based meals and goods, (Instagram post). In one of his Instagram posts, he argues that to live a better lifestyle, people must be more aware of what they consume and their surroundings (Instagram post). This post demonstrates that adjusting and adapting to healthy eating habits is essential to living a healthy life.
Tony is qualified to submit his views, which have assisted many of his followers, due to his participation in program activities and knowledge of nutrition and bodily health. He demonstrates that his program, Dietary Guidelines has identified four nutrients that are inadequate in the typical American diet and have been recognized as nutrients of public health concern. Examples include potassium, vitamin D, calcium, and dietary fiber. Lastly, Tony’s Instagram post garnered a large number of likes. The post offers significance in the realm of health and wellness that enables his followers to engage in physical exercises that will improve their energy levels and sleep quality, as an illustration of some of the effects of lockdowns. Many studies validate his meal recommendations on solid nutrition, making his post the most beneficial to the community. For instance, research indicates that enhanced food awareness and education, meal planning, engagement in food preparation, and physical activity are facilitators of healthy behavior (Sogari et al., 2018). These suggestions are consistent with what Tony Horton has been publishing and pushing his followers to do, making his messages credible.
Anita Herbert
Hungary’s Anita Herbert is a professional fitness model and bikini athlete. She became famous on social media as a Hungarian bodybuilder, fitness model, and bikini contestant. With over 2.8 million Instagram followers (@anita_herbert) and growing, Anita is most known for her healthy lifestyle and toned body. Anita’s contribution to human development is the content that instructs her followers on how to employ her approach to losing weight. Anita is thus eligible to share her information since she has established a solid reputation for her knowledge and skill in bikini sports. Anita’s Instagram post, Anita shows how the program FitQueen has aided in the weight loss and fitness gains of some of her followers. Her FitQueen program consists of a 6-week training and meal plan for quick and long-lasting results. According to research, this plan is reliable since a low-calorie diet and six weeks of training may result in weight loss and enhanced performance (Gregory et al., 2017). Even though her program is built for a feminine physique in mind, Anita influences her followers with exceptional, trustworthy exercises.
Jillian Michaels
Jillian Michaels is a qualified personal trainer with NESTA and AFAA, a black belt in Muay Thai and Akauri-Do, and the creator of The Fitness App. Her Instagram account is @jilianmichaels, and the name of her YouTube channel is Jillian Michaels. Jillian grew up to become a world-renowned fitness guru and inspirational life coach with a no-nonsense manner in the realm of human development. She motivated ten years’ worth of competitors and fans to achieve their fitness objectives and endure remarkable changes using her tough love. Jillian Michaels is qualified to communicate her views on social media since she altered the Americans’ perceptions about fitness. In her Instagram posts, one and two, she promotes the use of The Fitness App to enhance training. Although the program offers a low-cost monthly membership and developing tailored food plans and training regimens for users, with the option to adjust them as required, evidence suggests that fitness applications do not score well in prescription recommendations (Guo et al., 2017). Despite the low score, the program has assisted many users in maintaining their discipline and physical condition.
Undoubtedly, social media influencers like as Tony Horton, Anita Herbert, and Jillian Michaels’ utilization social networking sites to encourage people to embrace an active lifestyle is crucial to human growth and well-being. Their methods improve mental health, promote performance, and help their followers to prevent potential health issues. However, the methods proposed by the influencers are not foolproof and without empirical evidence can be considered mere fun activities. This challenge underscores the importance of underpinning the physical exercise strategies and healthy living regimens with available evidence to increase audience uptake. In this context, healthy lifestyle influencers should consider supporting their teaching with proven data, which should go beyond evidence of their success with alleged methods but also of their followers.
Conclusion
Tony Horton, Anita Herbert, and Jillian Michaels have shown the importance of market influencers. They illustrate how social media influencers play an important part in this information network. They inform their fans about new products, developments, and even breaking news. In contrast to advertising intended to enlighten, the information obtained from individual influencers is natural and credible. Thus, through their social media, they influence by advocating and teaching their followers the various methods and practices they should adopt to develop healthy lifestyles and live accomplished lives.
References
Gregory, R. M. (2017). A low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet combined with 6-weeks of crossfit training improves body composition and performance.International Journal of Sports and Exercise Medicine, 3(2).
Guo, Y., Bian, J., Leavitt, T., Vincent, H. K., Vander Zalm, L., Teurlings, T. L., Smith, M. D., & Modave, F. (2017). Assessing the quality of mobile exercise apps based on the american college of sports medicine guidelines: A reliable and valid scoring instrument.Journal of Medical Internet Research, 19(3), e67.
Hall, G., Laddu, D. R., Phillips, S. A., Lavie, C. J., & Arena, R. (2021). A tale of two pandemics: How will COVID-19 and global trends in physical inactivity and sedentary behavior affect one another?Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 64, 108.
Horton, T. (2022). Meet Tony Horton. Tonyhortonlife.
Jin, S. V., Muqaddam, A., & Ryu, E. (2019). Instafamous and social media influencer marketing. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 37(5), 567–579.
Park, J. H., Moon, J. H., Kim, H. J., Kong, M. H., & Oh, Y. H. (2020). Sedentary Lifestyle: Overview of Updated Evidence of Potential Health Risks.Korean journal of family medicine, 41(6), 365–373.
Sogari, G., Velez-Argumedo, C., Gómez, M. I., & Mora, C. (2018). College students and eating habits: A study using an ecological model for healthy behavior.Nutrients, 10(12), 1823.