‘Gut health’ and the microbiome in the popular press: a content analysis

Abstract

ObjectiveExtensive research and important discoveries on the microbiome have led to a growth in media coverage. This study explores how the microbiome has been portrayed in press sources popular among American and Canadian audiences.DesignContent analysis.MethodsUsing the FACTIVA Database, we compiled a finalised data set of (N=830) articles from press sources popular among American and Canadian audiences which were published between 1 January 2018 and 11 October 2019 and which contained at least one of the following search terms: ‘microbiome’, ‘microbiota’, ‘gut health’, ‘healthy gut’, ‘unhealthy gut’, ‘gut bacteria’, ‘probiotic’ or ‘probiotics.’ We performed content analysis on the articles to determine how often ideas of the microbiome were presented as beneficial, in which health contexts, and whether actions could be taken to reap stated benefits. We compared this portrayal of benefits with critical portrayals of the microbiome.ResultsAlmost all of the articles (94%) described health benefits associated with the microbiome with many (79%) describing actions which could be taken to reap stated benefits. Articles most often described health benefits in more broad, general context (34%) and most commonly outlined actions related to food/drug (45%) as well as probiotic (27%) intake. Only some articles (19%) provided microbiome-related critiques or limitations. Some of the articles (22%) were focused on highlighting specific research developments, and in these articles, critiques or limitations were more common.ConclusionsArticles discussing the microbiome published for American and Canadian audiences typically hype the microbiome’s impact and popularise gut health trends while only offering a little in the way of communicating microbiome science. Lifestyle choices including nutrition, taking probiotics, stress management and exercise are often promoted as means of reaping the microbiome-related health benefits. The trend of actionable ‘gut health’ is foregrounded over more evidence-based descriptions of microbiome science.

Online information in Spanish on probiotics, yoghurt, kefir, kombucha, fibre and prebiotics: an analysis of the quality of information and the certainty of the evidence supporting health claims

“…The prominent presence of commercial (23.7%) and news (23.7%) web pages in Spanish is in line with previous results on web page content on probiotics in English 42 43. Our findings reflect companies’ interest in therapeutically exploiting the microbiome42 43 and the newsworthiness of the topic 2–4…”

“…Research into the microbial ecosystem residing in the gastrointestinal tract, which is collectively known as the gut microbiome, is commanding increasing attention among medical audiences and the general public 1–4. While the microbiome is now often thought of as a virtual organ of the body due to its influence in many areas of human health, from immunity to energy metabolism and mental health,5–7 its causal involvement in diseases is mostly unresolved 8.…”

“…The health and nutrition-related information disseminated by online resources may influence health perception and food practices,26–29 and the online space in particular has fuelled the promotion of microbiome-related interventions for maintaining health and quality of life 30. However, information on the microbiome in online resources or websites (eg, newspapers and Google searches) is often misleading, does not always report limitations and tends to simplify or exaggerate the benefits of microbiome-based interventions 1 4 31–34. That has led to the microbiome being oversold as the main cause of all health and illness, in a phenomenon dubbed ‘microbiomania’ 35.…”

Gut Signals and Gut Feelings: Science at the Interface of Data and Beliefs

“…While changes in the composition and diversity of the gut microbiome are associated with many neurological and psychiatric disorders (Simpson et al, 2021 ), causal relationships between particular aberrations of the gut microbiome and particular disorders of the human brain remain to be delineated. Despite the insufficient evidence, the hype in microbiome research is also mirrored in the popular press, the vast majority of articles (>90%) reporting health benefits associated with the gut microbiome without mentioning the limitations of such claims (Marcon et al, 2021 ). “Hope or hype” has become a common phrase in biomedical research areas in which a research boost raises expectations and beliefs in health benefits that await to be fulfilled.…”

Metaomics in Clinical Laboratory: Potential Driving Force for Innovative Disease Diagnosis

“…These techniques are also known as metaomics when combined for integrated analysis. In addition, both the public and popular press show more and more interests in this novel field (Marcon et al, 2021), which lies the ground for metaomics to be developed and accepted as innovative bacterial diagnostics tools.…”