ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Media Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1578510
TikTok Fitspiration and Fitness Ideal Internalisation: Gender Differences in Self-Esteem and Body Satisfaction
Provisionally accepted
- University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
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Fitspiration content promotes active, healthy lifestyles by advocating for healthy eating, regular exercise, and self-care. While Instagram's impact on body image has been widely studied, limited research has explored TikTok fitspiration. This study examined how TikTok usage influences fit ideal internalisation, state self-esteem and perceptions of physical appearance, as well as gender differences in responses to fitspiration content on body satisfaction. A total of 274 participants (61.7% females; aged 18-62, M = 21.8, SD = 7.64) completed an online questionnaire assessing TikTok usage, fit internalisation and appearance-related perceptions. Participants then viewed three fitspiration videos, and their levels of body satisfaction and state self-esteem were measured before and after exposure. Paired-samples t-tests revealed a significant decrease in body satisfaction post-exposure (p < .01, Cohen's d = 0.47), while state self-esteem remained unchanged (p = 0.354, Cohen's d = 0.023). A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed that females' state self-esteem and body satisfaction were significantly lower than males due to TikTok fitspiration content (p < .05). Multiple regression analyses revealed that among usage variables (e.g., frequency of use, posting habits, follower count), only the number of followees (β = 0.871, p = 0.020) and received "likes" (β = 1.449, p < .001) positively predicted fit internalisation, with no significant effect on appearance. These findings highlighted the importance of educational interventions to counter the influence of TikTok fitspiration content. A potential implication of this study is the promotion of a shift from aesthetic ideals to physical capabilities.
Keywords: TikTok fitspiration, fit internalisation, physical appearance, body satisfaction, State self-esteem, gender, TikTok
Received: 17 Feb 2025; Accepted: 01 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Limniou, Duckett and Mitchell. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Maria Limniou, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
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