Emma Grundtvig Gram

‘Manosphere’ influencers pushing testosterone tests are convincing healthy young men there is something wrong with them, study finds Researcher points to ‘medicalisation of masculinity’ after investigating how men’s health is being monetised online “If you’re not waking up in the morning with a boner, there’s a large possibility that you have low testosterone levels,” an influencer on TikTok with more than 100,000 followers warns his viewers. Despite screening for low testosterone being medically unwarranted in most young men, this group is being aggressively targeted online by influencers and wellness companies promoting hormone tests and treatments as essential to being a “real man”, a study published in the journal Social Science and Medicine has found. Continue reading...

‘Manosphere’ influencers pushing testosterone tests are convincing healthy young men there is something wrong with them, study finds

Selling Masculinity – A Qualitative Analysis of Gender Representations in Social Media Content about “Low T” Testosterone has long been advertised through gendered messages that link masculinity with strength, sexual performance and vitality. In recent years,…

Excellent paper from a team including our honorary chair Anthony Brown examining how the manosphere tries to turn low testosterone into a crisis when, in fact, screening for low T is medically unwarranted and may lead to overuse and overdiagnosis. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Addressing misleading medical information on social media: a scoping review of current interventions Background Misleading information about medical products on social media may cause overuse. Objectives Explore interventions targeting the problem of misleading medical information and marketing on s...

Addressing misleading medical information on social
media: ebm.bmj.com/content/30/6...

"...presence of misinformation on social media is testament to the fact that regulations are inadequate..."

"We need multidisciplinary collaborations and effective means to enforce or implement interventions..."

The harmful and biased medical advice from social medial influencers, highlighting lack of expertise and financial conflicts. Many specific examples and recommendations provided
bmj.com/content/391/...

Overdiagnosis not only causes harm to patients but has a further, and currently underexplored harm: it causes knowledge harm by adversely impacting our understanding of disease ebm.bmj.com/content/earl... @katyjlbell.bsky.social @elspethdavies.bsky.social

Social Media Marketing of Non-Evidence-Based Women's Health Interventions: #Protocol for a Content Analysis Using Participatory #Research Methods Background: The promotion of non-evidence-based health interventions to women on social media is a growing problem. Objective: This #Study aims to explore the use of social media to disseminate and promote health interventions that lack robust evidence and are of current interest and popularity. Methods: A content analysis of posts on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook about 5 health interventions targeted at women will be conducted using participatory #Research methods with consumers. English-language posts that discuss boric acid suppositories, fertility testing, perimenopause and menopause testing, supplements and hormone treatments for menopause, and menopause hormone therapy for disease prevention will be included. Using keyword searches related to each health intervention, consumers will screen the top posts until 100 eligible posts on 2 different social media platforms are identified (1000 posts total across the 5 health interventions). Data from the post’s caption, on-screen text, and audio and/or video will be included in the analysis. The analysis of these posts will take both a deductive approach using a prespecified framework and an inductive approach, generating key themes from the post content. Results: Data on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook have been searched and screened. Development of the coding framework and analysis is now underway. The findings will be disseminated via publications in peer-reviewed international medical journals and presentations at national and international conferences in 2025 and 2026. Conclusions: This novel #Study will provide important insights into how information on various women’s health interventions and products, which currently lack robust evidence of benefit, are being disseminated and promoted on social media to women. Understanding this is essential for developing strategies to mitigate potential harm and plan solutions, thus protecting women from the low-value interventions marketed to them, becoming patients unnecessarily, and taking finite resources away from the health care system.

JMIR Res Protocols: Social Media Marketing of Non-Evidence-Based Women's Health Interventions: #Protocol for a Content Analysis Using Participatory #Research Methods

Just-published study protocol for work in progress! @sydneyhealthliteracylab.org.au

@brookenickel.bsky.social @tessacopp.bsky.social @emmagram.bsky.social @kmcfadden.bsky.social @jenna-smith.bsky.social @melodytaba.bsky.social @kirstenmccaffery.bsky.social

www.researchprotocols.org/2025/1/e76750/

Super excited to be part of this study on social media marketing of women’s health interventions!

We’ve focussed on 5 interventions targeting women across the lifespan like: #BoricAcidSuppositories, #FertilityTests, #MenopauseTests, #MenopauseTreatments and #HormoneTherapies.

Results coming soon!🤩

NEW at Health Promotion International ⭐️

Check out some of the latest research from social media interventions to alcohol lobbying registries to physical activity & green spaces 👇

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Addressing misleading medical information on social media: a scoping review of current interventions Background Misleading information about medical products on social media may cause overuse. Objectives Explore interventions targeting the problem of misleading medical information and marketing on s...

Misinformation about health is flooding social media, exposing the limits of current regulations and interventions. In this scoping review, we highlight key challenges and gaps in the current landscape: ebm.bmj.com/content/earl... @brookenickel.bsky.social @sydney.edu.au @ucph.bsky.social

Beyond body mass index: rethinking doctors’ advice for weight loss. Doctors should provide quality, evidence based care reflecting individual preferences and needs, regardless of weight, write @drjuanfranco.bsky.social ‪ @emmagram.bsky.social & colleagues #BMI
@bmj.com www.bmj.com/content/389/...

A nurse weighing a patient

Focusing solely on achieving weight loss for people with a high body mass index may do more harm than good, argue experts.

Weight alone might not give an adequate picture of someone’s health, they say
www.bmj.com/content/389/...

Social Media Posts About Medical Tests With Potential for Overdiagnosis This cross-sectional study examines the tone and content of social media posts that discuss popular medical tests with potential for overdiagnosis or overuse.

JUST PUBLISHED!

New research led by our Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr Brooke Nickel (@brookenickel.bsky.social) in JAMA Network Open titled "Social Media Posts About Medical Tests With Potential for Overdiagnosis"!

➡️ Read here: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

@jama.com

Influencers Call These Medical Tests Lifesaving. Here’s What You May Not Know. New research examined nearly 1,000 posts on tests for fertility, testosterone levels and cancer risk.

Influencers Call These Medical Tests Lifesaving. Here’s What You May Not Know.

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/w...

Social media influencers are ‘fearmongering’ to promote health tests with limited evidence, study finds Researchers warn of harms of overdiagnosis for generally healthy people as well as the cost of tests themselves

Social media influencers are ‘fearmongering’ to promote health tests with limited evidence, study finds

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Social Media Posts About Medical Tests With Potential for Overdiagnosis This cross-sectional study examines the tone and content of social media posts that discuss popular medical tests with potential for overdiagnosis or overuse.

🚨 New study out!

We coded ~1,000 TikTok & Insta posts on 5 controversial medical tests: 87% hyped benefits, only 15% mentioned harms. 68% had financial ties.
👉 #Overdiagnosis

Study led by @brookenickel.bsky.social & @sydneyhealthlitlab.bsky.social 🌟

Read here👇

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Social Media Posts About Medical Tests With Potential for Overdiagnosis This cross-sectional study examines the tone and content of social media posts that discuss popular medical tests with potential for overdiagnosis or overuse.

SO MUCH "testing" hype now. This can do harm.

Study: Social Media Posts About Medical Tests With Potential for Overdiagnosis jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

- 87.1% mentioned benefits
- 14.7% noted harms,
- 6.1% noted overdiagnosis

[Read: you don't need that full-body MRI!]

Direct-to-consumer tests: emerging trends are cause for concern Emma Gram and colleagues argue that the public needs high quality information and effective communication about the evidence behind the marketing of direct-to-consumer tests Advances in diagnostic t...

Direct-to-consumer tests: emerging trends are cause for concern

www.bmj.com/content/387/...

poorly (or not) regulated
Misleading or partial information

An industry built on fear
See also
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

The Sydney Health Literacy Lab is coming to Bluesky soon! This is about half of us, working across a huge range of health topics. We're passionate about #healthcommunication that meets #healthliteracy needs to improve equity, using behavioural & social science methods with a codesign approach.