PARTICIPATION IN SOCIAL MEDIA HEALTH GROUPS FOR EXERCISE AND DIETARY BEHAVIOURS AMONG FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM USERS IN GHANA

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ABSTRACT

This study adopts a mixed method approach to interrogate how social media is being used by individuals, both experts and non-experts in the promotion of diet and exercise. Using the social cognitive theory and the uses and gratifications theory as the theoretical framework, the study investigated how Ghanaians are using the Facebook and Instagram applications in their exercise and diet promotion behaviours. The objective of the study was to find out why people join these virtual communities to seek health information and the gratifications they seek from them. The study also looked to explore the kind of people who actively used these platforms and also sought to discover the self-efficacy levels of members of these social media health groups and the factors that motivate or demotivate their participation. Combining quantitative and qualitative data from survey and in-depth interviews respectively, information was gathered and analysed to explore the questions the study sought to answer. The study found that most participants in SMHGs are young females who join social media health groups (SMHGs) to lose or maintain weight in a cost-effective way. Additionally, findings also indicated that respondents wanted to broaden their dietary options and to discover where to find diet approved ingredients. In addition, the study found that accessing SMHG platforms have become somewhat habitual as members visit such pages at least twice daily. In terms of any link between participation and goal attainment, the study found that individuals who posted regularly, commented on the posts of others and engaged in live chats reported they achieved their objectives. Also, the study found that while self-efficacy to exercise was high among members of these groups, self-efficacy to diet was low. Positive comments and sharing of before and after posts motivated members to participate more, while insults and attacks demotivated participation.

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

  •             Background to study

Inadequate exercise or the lack of it and poor diet have been recognized by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as major health-compromising behaviours which contribute to increased risk of diseases such as diabetes, cancers, strokes, hypertension, and other related health risks. Such diseases — obesity, some cancers, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases — account for more than two-thirds of global deaths with at least half of them being caused by unhealthy diets, obesity and lack of physical activity (WHO, 2012; Spires et al, 2016). According to WHO, inadequate exercise habits and poor diet are responsible for about 2.8 million preventable deaths every year with insufficient exercise, specifically, being rated among leading risk factors for global mortality and morbidity. It is said to be the fourth leading risk factor causing death (WHO, 2009).

These statistics indicate that increasingly, lifestyle diseases are on the ascendency. This is the situation in both developed countries and developing ones. In Ghana for example, cardio- vascular diseases, which are linked to diseases caused by physical inactivity and poor diet, are the most prevalent contributors to mortality among all non-communicable diseases and account for 14 percent of reported total deaths (Ofori-Asenso & Garcia, 2015). Additionally, reports  from Ghana’s 2014 Report Card on Physical Activity also indicate that one-third of the country’s children and youth are not adequately engaged in physical activity (Ocansey et al. 2014).

According to Tripathi et al. (2018), the general health of people improves when individuals undertake regular exercise and adhere to proper dietary schedules; practices that tend to be encouraged by social interactions. Literature on the subject in Ghana, for example, shows that there is rising interest in the need to promote healthier lifestyle choices in Ghana’s bid to reduce high mortality. The literature further shows that significant portions of the Ghanaian populace have become aware of the benefits of proper dietary behaviour and physical activity (Tagoe & Dake, 2011). However, certain external factors influence the performance and regulation of exercise and diet on a daily basis. Key among these external factors is social and technological advancement (de Graft Aikins, 2012).