Teens Say TikTok Food Content Shapes What They Want to Eat but Parents Can Help Them Navigate Its Influence

A recent studyopens in new tab/window in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavioropens in new tab/window (JNEB), published by Elsevier, found that adolescents reported TikTok food content cued their desire to eat or try foods, while acknowledging that parents could play a protective role by helping them disengage from the platform and fostering critical conversations about food, bodies, influencers, and online health information. Participants frequently described TikTok food content as prompting hunger, cravings, and interest in trying new foods, while parental involvement could interrupt exposure to food-related content.

Researchers conducted four focus groups with 25 adolescents aged 15–16 years from a Midwestern high school. Participants discussed how they used TikTok, the food content they encountered, how they evaluated that content, and whether their parents influenced their social media use and eating behaviors.

Participants described encountering a wide variety of food-related TikTok content—including recipes, viral food trends, restaurant reviews, influencer promotions, “What I eat in a day” videos, and advertisements—that often made them want to eat, try, or obtain featured foods. Visually appealing food presentation, comments from other users, and recommendations from influencers could increase their interest in trying featured foods. Adolescents were sometimes skeptical of sponsored promotions, but familiar or seemingly credible influencers could still be persuasive.

"Adolescents described TikTok as a highly engaging environment where food content can quickly capture their attention and cue a desire to eat or try something new," says Adrianna N. Bell, PhD, RN, PHN, Senior Research Consultant, Delta Consulting Group. "While participants generally viewed their parents as uninvolved in their day-to-day TikTok use, they also described times when parents played an important role by interrupting exposure to food-related content and encouraging critical conversations about that content."

Although most participants perceived their parents as having little direct involvement in their day-to-day TikTok use, they described spending less time on the platform when parents encouraged family meals, shared activities, or other face-to-face interactions. Parents could also provide a protective perspective by questioning the credibility of diet and body-related claims and reminding adolescents that an influencer’s body, lifestyle, and results may not be realistic or applicable to everyone. The researchers suggest these findings could inform future nutrition education and media literacy efforts that include both adolescents and parents.

The authors note that additional research is needed to measure how exposure to food-related TikTok content influences adolescents' actual dietary intake and how parents can best support healthy social media use and eating behaviors.

Notes for editors

The article is “’I wanna try it so bad’: How TikTok Influences Adolescent Eating and the Role of Parents," by Adrianna N. Bell, PhD, RN, PHN; Barbara J. McMorris, PhD; Jayne A. Fulkerson, PhD; Marla E. Eisenberg, ScD, MPH; Melissa L. Horning, PhD, RN, PHN (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2026.05.006opens in new tab/window). It appears in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, volume 58, issue 8 (August 2026), published by Elsevier.

The article is openly available for 90 days at https://www.jneb.org/article/S1499-4046(26)00131-4/fulltextopens in new tab/window.

Full text of the article is also available to credentialed journalists upon request; contact Eileen Leahy at +1 732 406 1313 or [email protected]opens in new tab/window to obtain a copy. To schedule an interview with the author(s), please contact Adrianna N. Bell, PhD, RN, PHN, at [email protected]opens in new tab/window.

An audio podcast featuring an interview with Adrianna N. Bell, PhD, RN, PHN, and other information for journalists are available at https://www.jneb.org/content/mediaopens in new tab/window. Excerpts from the podcast may be reproduced by the media with permission from Eileen Leahy.

At the time this research was conducted Adrianna N. Bell, PhD, RN, PHN, was affiliated with the School of Nursing, University of Minnesota.

About the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior (JNEB)

The Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior (JNEB), the official journal of the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior (SNEB), is a refereed, scientific periodical that serves as a resource for all professionals with an interest in nutrition education and dietary/physical activity behaviors. The purpose of JNEB is to document and disseminate original research, emerging issues, and practices relevant to nutrition education and behavior worldwide and to promote healthy, sustainable food choices. It supports the society’s efforts to disseminate innovative nutrition education strategies and communicate information on food, nutrition, and health issues to students, professionals, policy makers, targeted audiences, and the public.

The Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior features articles that provide new insights and useful findings related to nutrition education research, practice, and policy. The content areas of JNEB reflect the diverse interests of health, nutrition, education, Cooperative Extension, and other professionals working in areas related to nutrition education and behavior. As the Society's official journal, JNEB also includes occasional policy statements, issue perspectives, and member communications. www.jneb.orgopens in new tab/window

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a global leader in advanced information and decision support. For over a century, we have been helping advance science and healthcare to advance human progress. We support academic and corporate research communities, doctors, nurses, future healthcare professionals, and educators across 170 countries in their vital work. We help impact makers achieve better outcomes with research and clinical-grade solutions built on the world’s leading evidence-based scientific and medical content, precision AI, and expert human assessment. We champion inclusion and sustainability, working with the communities that we serve. The Elsevier Foundationopens in new tab/window supports research and health partnerships around the world.

Elsevier is part of RELXopens in new tab/window, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. For more information, visit www.elsevier.com and follow us on social media @elsevierconnect.