Can the memes lead to teenage obesity?

According to a new report, it's easy to scroll through your Twitter or Instagram calendar and spot a memo, but some of these Internet images could increase obesity rates.

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British academics have recently warned health legislators that memes normalize "unhealthy lifestyles" in a letter titled "The effects of Internet memes".

Researchers at the University of Loughborough in England have listed the negative effects of social media, especially for teens, citing bullying, apathy and body shame.

In their notes, they explained how memes encourage the consumption of unhealthy foods with photos, designed to be humorous. They pointed out images of obese children and images of pizza, burgers and sausages next to well-defined bodies.

"With the dominance of social media as a source of knowledge about young people's health, and indications that internet memes may play a role in overall apathy towards ridiculous behaviors for individuals and groups displaying "non-normative", "fat", "unhealthy", "irresponsible", "faulty" characteristics, the risks that this poses to future generations and to our youth are remarkable, "the authors wrote.

In addition, the researchers suggested to teens not to be apathetic as they simply enjoy memes online instead of scrutinizing them.

"It is disturbing to see that the content of the website generates a predominant feeling of happiness, regardless of the underlying tone or image used," they wrote. "If this is the broadest case, we risk normalizing and accepting the ridicule and stereotypes of" non-normative "," fat "," unhealthy "," irresponsible "," faulty "individuals because of their cultural ignorance ".

Analysts also discussed the financial burden of unhealthy lifestyles, including smoking, physical inactivity and obesity, for health care officials, particularly the country's national health service.

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