‘#WIEIAD’: The effects of viewing what I eat in a day (WIEIAD) videos on state fitness-related shame, guilt, envy, and intentions to change diet and exercise in young men

= 25 years, SD = 3.54)] were recruited using a cover story (social media use, self-perceptions, and mood) on Cloud Research Connect, an online crowdsourcing tool. Participants were randomly assigned to view a series of a) WIEIAD videos with calorie information, b) WIEIAD videos without calorie information, or c) travel videos (control) and completed pre-and post-measures of state fitness-related emotions. Participants who viewed WIEIAD videos with calorie information reported higher fitness-related shame and guilt compared to participants who viewed WIEIAD videos without calorie information and travel videos. Appearance comparisons mediated the effect of viewing WIEIAD videos (with or without calorie information) on all outcomes, with higher appearance comparisons leading to greater fitness-related shame, guilt, envy, and intentions to change diet and exercise. Self-compassion did not moderate any effects. Findings from this study highlight that viewing WIEIAD videos has negative effects on body image for young men through upward appearance comparisons.