A new survey by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) shows that registered dietitan nutritionists remain the most trusted guides for which foods to eat and avoid.
According to a news release from IFIC:
The 2025 IFIC Food & Health Survey: A Focus On Food & Nutrition reveals a growing sense of uncertainty about the food and nutrition landscape among Americans: eight in ten say it’s hard to know what to believe about nutrition, largely because the information seems to constantly change.
As nutrition noise grows, registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) remain the most trusted source of food and nutrition guidance, with 71% of Americans expressing high trust. By contrast, podcasters (18%) and social media influencers (16%) rank far lower, with more than half of Americans reporting low trust in those platforms.
Still, influence doesn’t always follow trust. Even with skepticism running high, social media continues to shape behavior: among the 50% of Americans who encountered food and nutrition content online in the past year, over half (57%) say it encouraged them to make healthier choices. Yet, the credibility gap is widening: strong trust in online food content has dropped sharply, from 21% in 2023 to just 12% in 2025.
“The exposure to, and trust in food information is a challenge, but it’s also a huge opportunity,” said Reinhardt Kapsak. “With so much nutrition noise out there, people are craving trusted voices. This is the moment for RDNs to step up, speak out, and help people make choices they can feel good about—backed by science and rooted in real life.”
Take a deeper dive into the survey results here.