A growing share of Americans — especially younger adults — are turning to social media influencers and podcasts for health and wellness information, according to a new Pew Research Center study that highlights both the reach and complexity of the online wellness economy.
The report found that 40% of U.S. adults say they get health and wellness information from influencers or podcasts, including roughly half of Americans under age 50. Among adults ages 18 to 29, that figure rises to 52%.
Researchers identified more than 6,800 prominent health and wellness influencers with at least 100,000 followers on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube as part of the study, which examined who these influencers are, how they describe themselves, and how Americans interact with their content.
The study found that while 41% of health and wellness influencers describe themselves as health care professionals, many others identify as coaches, entrepreneurs, or individuals sharing personal life experiences.
Researchers said women dominate the influencer landscape, accounting for 64% of wellness influencers analyzed in the study. Men, however, were more likely to describe themselves as doctors or conventional medical professionals.
Instagram remains the dominant platform for wellness influencers, with 86% maintaining accounts there, followed by TikTok at 62% and YouTube at 45%.
Pew researchers also found that many Americans encounter health content passively rather than actively searching for it. About two-thirds of people who consume wellness influencer content said they mostly come across it while scrolling online, compared to one-third who intentionally seek it out.
Fitness, weight loss, beauty, and mental health were among the most common topics consumers reported hearing about from influencers. Younger adults were especially likely to encounter content related to fitness and mental health.
Despite the popularity of health influencers, trust levels remain mixed.
Only 10% of Americans who get health information from influencers said they trust all or most of what they hear, while 24% said they trust little or none of it. Most respondents fell somewhere in the middle.
Still, more than half of respondents said influencer content helped them better understand how to be healthy, while 12% said it made them more confused.
The study was based on surveys of more than 10,000 U.S. adults conducted in 2025, along with an analysis of influencer accounts across major social media platforms.
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