Are YouTube videos a useful source of information on avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder?

Authors : Elif Akçay, Büşra Bahadır

Pages : 51-60

Doi:10.47482/acmr.1604900

View : 69 | Download : 39

Publication Date : 2025-01-31

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Background: Social media platforms are widely used to share health information via videos. Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a new eating disorder term that is one of the most searched topics online. This study aims to determine the quality and content of videos about ARFID on YouTube. Methods: On May 6, 2024, the term “Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder and/or ARFID” was searched on YouTube. The videos’ quality was assessed using three scoring systems: DISCERN, Global Quality Score (GQS), and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). DISCERN scores defined the top 25% of videos as the most reliable and top-quality (Q1). Results: Videos (N = 295) were assessed, and 192 videos met our inclusion criteria. The most common video topic was the symptoms and diagnoses of ARFID (64.6%). Videos associated with ARFID were fair to poor quality according to DISCERN (90.6%) and GQS (79.7%). 80.2% of the videos targeted patients, and they had lower quality scores than those targeting healthcare providers. 68.42% of videos for healthcare providers were high-quality (Q1), while only 14.29% of videos targeting patients were Q1. The GQS and JAMA scores showed a negative correlation with the viewer interaction scores of the videos. Conclusions: Our findings underline the low quality of YouTube videos about ARFID. It is concerning to find that viewer interaction with the videos increases as video quality decreases. The present study highlights the risk of spreading poor-quality information via YouTube videos to the public, particularly patients.
Keywords : kaçıngan/kısıtlayıcı gıda alımı bozukluğu (KKGAB), yeme bozuklukları, bilgi arama davranışı, internet

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