Who Is Considered a Health & Fitness "Expert" Today?

The progression of the digital age along with the increasing popularity of and influence that social media and other digital platforms have on society today have led to big changes in how health information is circulated in the public, which has greatly impacted how health and fitness professionals are recognized and do business: today there is considerable variation in the amount of formal education that has been completed by individuals in health and fitness professions which aim to help clients establish a healthy lifestyle but many of them utilize and function within digital spaces very similarly to each other in order to promote themselves, their business, and the methods that they use to help people achieve this healthy lifestyle.

Nutrition & fitness are extremely closely-related fields already, but there are certain education and credential requirements to achieve certain titles that differentiate one type of professional from another (Dietitian vs. Nutritionist vs. Sports Nutritionist vs. Personal Trainer, etc.)—the evolution of the digital age has blurred the boundaries that separate these titles while also somewhat devaluing credited titles in the industry that imply a certain amount of formal education and experience with working in the field. There is so much information freely available and accessible via the Internet today regarding what is and isn’t healthy for you—what foods will help you lose weight, what foods will help you build muscle, what foods have “superfood” properties that may help fight against disease or aging, when you should eat in order to maintain a healthy metabolism, how often you should exercise, for how long, and at what intensity, etc.. Since all of this information is available to anyone who goes looking for it on the Web, many individuals in the health and fitness field who may not have an extensive background or education in nutrition, dietetics, or exercise science have been able to take advantage of this wealth of information and, by concentrating it and combining it with the skills and knowledge they have accumulated themselves through their own health and fitness journeys, past work experiences, processes of trial and error, and informal education in fitness centers, they have been able to successfully develop comprehensive programs to help people realize their health and fitness goals to their maximum potential—and almost exclusively through digital technology! By making a name for themselves and their brand through

promotion via social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and by actively participating in the digital spaces that highly-educated and greatly-accredited professionals use to provide clients and the general public with the information and resources they need in order to reach their health and fitness goals, individuals such as Adam Bornstein of Born Fitness and Kayla Itsines of the Bikini Body Guides have each built a presence in the health and fitness industry that rivals that of some of the most educated and experienced experts in the field such as Steve Collins of The Way Up and Tammy and Lyssie Lakatos of The Nutrition Twins.