Physicians Alarmed by Fad Diets on Social Media: Daily Dose

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Patient Care brings primary care clinicians a lot of medical news every day—it’s easy to miss an important study. The Daily Dose provides a concise summary of one of the website's leading stories you may not have seen.

On June 6, 2025, we reported on an international survey of health care professionals (HCPs) that aimed to determine HCPs views on supplements, diets, food safety, and nutritional training.

The study

The Sermo Barometer 40 survey queried 1041 physicians and advanced practice clinicians between June 6-7, 2025.

The findings

• 90% of HCPs expressed concern about the promotion of fad diets on social media.

• Despite significant social media hype on protein-driven diets, only 5% of HCPs surveyed recommend them as a top choice for most patients, while 70% endorse the Mediterranean diet as their primary recommendation.

• 38% report time constraints affect the freedom to counsel and 22% cite insufficient training in nutrition counseling as a primary obstacle.

• 86% strongly support adding cancer warning labels to alcoholic beverages as recommended by the US Surgeon General.

• HCPs also follow emerging food safety alerts, with 61% reporting extreme or very high levels of concern about microplastics in food and water supplies.

Authors' comments

"With advancements in biometrics and AI-powered tools enabling a more personalized approach to medicine, the potential impact of nutrition has never been greater. However, unless healthcare providers receive comprehensive, up-to-date training in nutrition and are incentivized to integrate it into their practices, we risk missing critical opportunities to enhance patient outcomes and promote long-term wellness."

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