Accuracy of weight loss information in Spanish search engine results on the internet

Abstract

Objective: To systematically assess the quality of online information related to weight loss that Spanish speakers in the U.S. are likely to access.

Methods: This study evaluated the accessibility and quality of information for websites that were identified from weight loss queries in Spanish and compared this with previously published results in English. The content was scored with respect to five dimensions: nutrition, physical activity, behavior, pharmacotherapy, and surgical recommendations.

Results: Sixty-six websites met eligibility criteria (21 commercial, 24 news/media, 10 blogs, 0 medical/government/university, 11 unclassified sites). Of 16 possible points, mean content quality score was 3.4 (SD = 2.0). Approximately 1.5% of sites scored greater than 8 (out of 12) on nutrition, physical activity, and behavior. Unsubstantiated claims were made on 94% of the websites. Content quality scores varied significantly by type of website (P < 0.0001) with unclassified websites scoring the highest (mean = 6.3, SD = 1.4) and blogs scoring the lowest (mean = 2.2, SD = 1.2). All content quality scores were lower for Spanish websites relative to English websites.

Conclusions: Weight loss information accessed in Spanish Web searches is suboptimal and relatively worse than weight loss information accessed in English, suggesting that U.S. Spanish speakers accessing weight loss information online may be provided with incomplete and inaccurate information.

Figure 1

Inclusion, exclusion and Websites classification Note. med/uni/gov = medical, university, or government sites

Figure 2

Content scores per Website type Note. medical, university, or government sites (n=0) not included in figure