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. 2025 Feb;38(1):e13395.
doi: 10.1111/jhn.13395.

Content accuracy and readability of dietary advice available on webpages: A systematic review of the evidence

Evaggelia Fappa  1 , Mary Micheli  1
Affiliations

Content accuracy and readability of dietary advice available on webpages: A systematic review of the evidence

Evaggelia Fappa et al. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2025 Feb.

Abstract

Background: Concerns have been raised regarding the quality of health information published on the World Wide Web, while studies accumulating similar evidence for nutrition-related information are scarce. The present review aimed to systematically accumulate and discuss the findings of studies evaluating the content quality of websites publishing nutrition-related information, based on the PRISMA statement.

Methods: Studies that have assessed the accuracy and readability of dietary advice published on websites/webpages were evaluated. The SPIDER framework was used for the systematic search of studies, and those that evaluated websites/webpages that did not contain nutritional information, were videos or social media, referred to health professionals, or contained information on a specific theme (e.g., dietary supplements), were excluded.

Results: Twenty-nine studies were included in this review, assessing information, published mainly in English, on 18 different diet-related topics. Twenty of them classified websites and reported, also, results per category. Inconsistent information has been found on 16%-49.6% of websites, with this percentage rising to 54%-94% in the case of 'weight loss' information. Purely congruent with guidelines information was found on 18%-39.7% of websites. Commercial sites were inferior in terms of quality to the rest. The readability level was estimated as higher than the recommended in 9 out of 11 studies that assessed it.

Conclusions: Results of the present systematic review indicate that inaccurate and hard-to-read dietary advice is found on many websites, regardless of the dietary topic.

Keywords: diet; information; nutrition; quality; readability; systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flowchart.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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