Do it for the gram: results from the physical activity and social media support (PASS) study

BACKGROUND : Sedentary lifestyles and physical inactivity are prevalent global public health issues [1]. These issues have been further perpetuated by the current COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers have enlisted different modes to deliver interventions to promote physical activity. Physical activity promotion interventions provide education and motivational strategies which have been shown to produce positive effects on physical activity [1]. Internet-based interventions may offer the most potential due to the opportunity for widespread community outreach, large-scale physical activity promotion, and active user engagement [2]. Active user engagement is particularly of interest as intervention engagement influences change in physical activity, which can improve the efficacy of future interventions [3]. Social media-based interventions are becoming increasingly common as a mode of delivery for physical activity promotion interventions as they can produce moderate improvements in physical activity, but this is still an understudied area [4]. While Facebook has been utilized by researchers to deliver interventions [5], its sister platform, Instagram, is an understudied social media platform [6]. Instagram is of particular interest because of the various methods of interaction with options including sharing photos, videos, hashtags, temporary stories, and commenting on other posts. Its wide reach and potential for increased user engagement make it a promising platform for physical activity promotion interventions. Alongside the increased use of social media as an educational modality is the staggering prevalence of physical activity related misinformation on the platform as perpetuated by various sources. This misinformation can become increasingly problematic if users accept content at face value and do not consider if the source is credible [7]. The impact of misinformation spread throughout the social media platform could be harmful