Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a famous actor who is a former professional wrestler. As a result, his advice regarding diets and exercises is often perceived by the audience as credible and reliable. Johnson’s posts on Twitter include a lot of information regarding his dietary plans, supplements he takes, the regime he follows, and exercises he performs in order to preserve his muscle mass. The purpose of this paper is to analyze one of Johnson’s most popular Twitter posts on his diet, evaluate the scientific reliability of his advice, and discuss the impact of social media and popular persons’ posts on the public.
The Social Media Example
During 2013, Johnson was preparing for his role of Hercules, and he often posted his plan for taking seven meals per day. Johnson also posted the following statement, “My current 22 week diet for the role of HERCULES. Cardio & iron before going to set. (Lion blood is optional;),” and provided the plan for the diet he kept during those days (Johnson, 2013, para. 1). According to this plan, Johnson took 8 oz. of chicken twice a day, 8 oz. of halibut twice a day, 8 oz. of filet once a day, up to 6 cups of white rice, 21 oz. of baked potatoes, 2 cups of broccoli, 2 cups of asparagus, and 10 egg whites in addition to other vegetables (Johnson, 2013). It is possible to state that this diet is full of protein in order to guarantee muscle growth. In spite of the fact that this diet is just an example of Johnson’s dietary plan, some of the followers and fans of the actor tried to use this diet in order to increase muscle mass. Therefore, this post is regarded as a kind of health advice in the context of this paper.
Analysis of the Post and Scientific Credibility
Having analyzed the proposed diet from the perspective of nutritionists’ recommendations, it is possible to state that this plan of taking seven meals a day is appropriate only for athletes or wrestlers because a person is expected to take up to 5,000 calories daily. Referring to Johnson’s training plans, it is possible to agree that this plan contributes to muscle growth because the actor burns many calories during his sports routines. The high nutritional value of fish and chicken allows a person to take a lot of protein, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, as well as vitamins B2 and B6, A, D, and PP (Barbuica, 2015). This diet is appropriate for an athlete whose caloric need is more than 5,000 calories per day because of significant energy spending or costs. From this perspective, Johnson’s advice can be viewed as credible to some extent while focusing on diets for wrestlers. However, even for athletes, the levels of consumed protein need to be monitored in order to avoid intoxication and undesirable effects on muscles (Barbuica, 2015). Thus, the proposed diet can be challenging even for an experienced athlete.
While discussing the scientific credibility of the proposed nutrition plan for the general audience of Johnson’s posts, it is important to note that ordinary people cannot use this diet without affecting their health negatively because of the amount of food to take every two-three hours and associated protein levels. Depending on the age, gender, weight, lifestyle, physical activity, and other health factors, adult individuals are recommended to take from 2,000 to 3,000 calories per day. The focus is on the balanced intake of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, as well as vitamins and microelements with the minimal consumption of saturated fats (DeSalvo, Olson, & Casavale, 2016). From this perspective, the consumption of about 5,000 calories per day can have significant adverse effects on human organisms.
Therefore, Johnson’s advice cannot be appropriate for his general audience. The problem is that Americans often do not follow appropriate healthy eating plans, but they are ready to follow eating patterns promoted by their favorite actors or other famous persons. As a result, it is possible to assume that some young men tried to follow the diet posted by Johnson, and they increased their daily consumption of calories. Still, it is almost impossible to guarantee that their organisms were ready to such changes, physical activities were appropriate to burn these calories, and the increases in calories were achieved not with the help of sugars and saturated fats.
Conclusion
The analysis of one of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s posts on his diet indicates that the health advice provided by this person cannot be discussed as sound or credible for all his followers. Although Johnson as a famous person can influence many people with the help of social media, their experience related to trying Johnson’s diet can have negative effects on their health. It is important to pay attention to the fact that, being viewed as a professional and successful wrestler, Johnson has the impact on the public’s perceptions and opinions, but the information provided by the actor can be used by his followers inappropriately.
References
Barbuica, S. (2015). Studies on importance of using meat, fish and their derivates in athletes diet. Scientific Papers Animal Science and Biotechnologies, 48(1), 369-372.
DeSalvo, K. B., Olson, R., & Casavale, K. O. (2016). Dietary guidelines for Americans. JAMA, 315(5), 457-458.
Johnson, D. (2013). My current 22 week diet for the role of Hercules. Web.