Neither Branding nor Personal Experience Makes Anyone a Health Expert
Recently, I came across a video posted on X by a gym enthusiast. In the video, he was detailing his weight loss journey and afterwards he shared a medical advice for those who wanted to loose weight just as he’d done. According to him, if they wanted to achieve that goal, they had to commit to eating only one meal per day and skipping breakfast, which we all know is one of the most important meals of the day.
A few hours after the video dropped, I noticed that there was a lot of pushback against it which was impressive because the larger audience usually leans towards advices made by unqualified individuals and applying it to their own lives, especially if they perceive affluence and have seen a tiny bit of result from such a personality.
Unfortunately, there were still a significant number that took everything he said hook and sinker. They quoted the video with appreciative texts, expressing how eager they were to try out this OMAD plan just to lose weight. I could tell how desperate they were about achieving their weight loss goal, and I can say for free that the desperation is what most unqualified people leverage on as a selling point whenever they want to pitch a terrible idea to the public or sell them a product that miraculously changed their life.
Most times, they also use their celebrity status and how much engagement they get on their posts to this advantage and it works more than half the time. These people, even when they know the health risk of any advice they’re dishing out or product they’re selling, continue to market it for their followers whom they have built trust with. It is that same trust that makes the common man place them above the learned doctor in their neighbourhood.
For example, this gym enthusiast I came across, has all the equipments that supports his content creation journey regarding his weight loss. So while walking everyone through it, he makes it more visually appealing and engaging for his followers and at the end of let’s say 2 months, they get to record tremendous progress, even though it took them half a year or more.
That is the power of content. Everything can be put together to fit into two months to look convincing to the average consumer. But the doctors who have no ring light, and enough time to sit in front of a camera everyday to share why many decisions are dangerous to our health get overlooked, even though they're the ones who got the facts that helps save the day.
Now, I’m not saying many public figures who have built a brand in a particular niche, especially in health, wellness and general well being, cannot speak on their journey and assist others with some useful tips. They can but when it comes to more complex issues like weight loss, how to deal with reproductive and dietary issues, they absolutely have no right to dish out advices as they are not certified to do so.
The problem also lies in speaking in absolutes. If at all any unqualified individual who has built a reputable brand decides to speak on sensitive health issues that they have navigated successfully, they have to ensure that they do not make their experiences a universal solution for other people who consume their content.
Just like the gym enthusiast, just because he had lost weight and got in shape by skipping breakfast and getting his nutrients from one meal every day alongside weight lifting does not necessarily mean that he had any rights to advice fat people on weight loss. Only a Medical doctor, a dietician or a pharmacist has the right to do so. In some cases, other health care professionals may be qualified to speak on other issues pertaining our health, as they always know these things better than any content creator or famous person who has built a brand on the internet.
So having an experience with something or realizing you achieved success with a health goal does not give you the right to transform that into a medical advice. As long as you’re not a health care professional, it is better to desist from making health content that has half baked facts and could potentially put someone listening to you in harms way. Remember, we only speak on what we’re truly qualified on, not what we think we should be qualified to speak on.
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