Functional Foods and Cancer On Pinterest and Pubmed: Myths and Science

Abstract

Aim: This article examines whether social media postings dealing with cancer and so-called ‘functional foods’ simply reflect a fashionable subject or are based on scientific evidence. Methods: The first step consisted of an analysis of a sample of Pins published on Pinterest. The second consisted of an analysis to determine whether the content of the Pins was based on scientific research. Results: From a set of 507 Pins on cancer, we found 204 that also dealt with food. We selected 75 Pins representing different foods and we identified about 80,000 scientific articles on cancer and food indexed in PubMed. Conclusion: We concluded that material published on Pinterest has some correlation with the scientific literature.

Lay abstract The objective of this study was to identify the correlation between what Pinterest users share about food and cancer, and the scientific evidence on the relationship between cancer and consumption of specific foods. In order to do this, we used PubMed and studied 75 Pins published in Pinterest. We identified about 80,000 scientific articles in PubMed about cancer and those foods posted on Pinterest. We observed that the Pins published in Pinterest have some relation to scientific information despite it not being possible to establish if the correlation with the particular food and cancer involved prevention, cure or treatment.

Video Abstract

Keywords::

• cancer
• food
• Pinterest
• PubMed
• social media

Supplementary data

To view the supplementary video that accompanies this paper, please visit the journal website at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/ful/10.4155/fsoa-2018-0023

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank V M Rumjanek for her irreplaceable comments - without her we would not have been able to complete this analysis. In addition, we would like to thank the Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Rio de Janeiro (Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation), Fundação do Câncer (Brazilian Cancer Foundation), and the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development –Brazilian CNPq) for funding this study.

Author contributions

G Justo contributed in data acquisition and interpretation from PubMed, drafting and final review of the manuscript. EM de Oliveira contributed with the collect of data from Pinterest, drafting and final review of the manuscript and C Jurberg contributed in project design, drafting and final review of the manuscript.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.