Obesity occurs when energy intake from food or drink consumption is greater than the energy expenditure through metabolism or exercise. The World Health Organisation has stated that obesity has nearly tripled worldwide since 1975. The current levels of obesity stand at more than 650 million adults, which is approximately 13% of the population. If recent trends continue, it is estimated that there will be 1.12 billion individuals classified as obese by 2030.
Obesity is largely preventable by making healthier food choices and limiting intake from fats and sugars, and taking part in regular physical activity. Sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs), which include sodas, soft drinks, drinks with sweeteners such as fruit-flavored drinks, sports and energy drinks, and sweetened coffees and teas are the leading source of added sugars. According to the American Heart Association, daily sugar intake should be limited to 6 tsps (25 g) for women, and 9 tsps (38 g) for men, but most people exceed this limit in the calories they consume just from SSBs alone.
Although we know sugar doesn’t directly cause type 2 diabetes, you are more likely to get it if you are overweight. Doctors have long suspected sugar is a fundamental contributing factor to obesity and type 2 diabetes. However type 2 diabetes is complex, and sugar is unlikely to be the only reason the condition develops. Therefore cutting down on all sources of energy, including sugars, when they’re consumed in excess, is the best approach.
The use of artificial sweeteners (such as saccharin, acesulfame, aspartame, neotame, and sucralose) in place of sugar to combat obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes can help reduce calorie intake. However these can be addictive and cause people to trick themselves into thinking they can replace the calories with other treats. Artificial sweeteners may also have a stimulating effect on appetite and, therefore may play a role in weight gain and obesity.
TOP INFLUENCERS
We analysed over 6.4M posts on obesity, diabetes and sugar from 6th August 2017 – 6th August 2018, looking at social influence as well as authority by analysing how much influencers are referenced on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Forums, Blogs, News and Tumblr content. These influencers were then identified and uploaded to our Influencer Relationship Management software (IRM) to generate the influencer rankings and network map.
Below is a list of the top obesity, diabetes and sugar influencers segmented by job role. If you want to see who ranks beyond these lists you can download the full report by clicking the download button below!
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TOP ACADEMICS IN OBESITY, DIABETES AND SUGAR
Below is a list of some of the top academics in obesity, diabetes and sugar. If you want to see who ranks beyond 10 be sure to download the full report!
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @BenBikmanPhD | Benjamin Bikman | Brigham Young University | 100 |
| 2 | @RobertLustigMD | Robert Lustig MD | University of California | 78.76 |
| 3 | @athattersley | Andrew Hattersley | University of Exeter | 70.83 |
| 4 | @DrDuaneRD | Duane Mellor | Coventry University | 53.46 |
| 5 | @whsource | Stephan Guyenet, PhD | stephanguyenet.com | 51.29 |
| 6 | @joyclee | Joyce Lee | University of Michigan Medical School | 51.04 |
| 7 | @JimJohnsonSci | Jim Johnson, Ph.D. | The University of British Columbia | 44.27 |
| 8 | @ethanjweiss | Ethan Weiss | The University of California | 43.91 |
| 9 | @DanielJDrucker | Daniel J Drucker | Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research | 42.44 |
| 10 | @SimonCapewell99 | Simon Capewell | University of Liverpool | 40.26 |
TOP BLOGGERS IN OBESITY, DIABETES AND SUGAR
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @verylightnosuga | Ally | Very Light No Sugar | 100 |
| 2 | @Listen2Lena | Lena Almeida | listentolena.com | 67.99 |
| 3 | @AMummyToo | Emily Leary | A Mummy Too | 64.56 |
| 4 | @TheMomUnleashed | Jeanette Fender | Mom Unleashed | 61.7 |
| 5 | @grumpy_pumper | Chris Aldred | the-grumpy-pumper.com | 50.44 |
| 6 | @richardblogger | Richard Blogger | nhsvault.blogspot.com | 49.9 |
| 7 | @RenzaS | Renza / Diabetogenic | Diabetogenic | 46.62 |
| 8 | @sstrumello | Scott Strumello | blog.sstrumello.com | 45.09 |
| 9 | @MightyCasey | Mighty Casey Quinlan | mightycasey.com | 41.48 |
| 10 | @MelindaSeedT1D | Melinda Seed | Twice Diabetes | 34.54 |
TOP CAMPAIGNERS IN OBESITY, DIABETES AND SUGAR
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @Kidfears99 | Laura Marston | Zenimax Media | 100 |
| 2 | @BelindaFettke | Belinda Fettke | #isupportgary | 20.28 |
| 3 | @Fractis | Bob Swindell | Diabetes UK | 17.89 |
| 4 | @Type1Adventures | Ros | Insulin Pumps Wales | 16.89 |
| 5 | @DeborahHealy_ | Deborah Healy, M.Ed. | Beyond Type 1 | 13.65 |
TOP DOCTORS IN OBESITY, DIABETES AND SUGAR
Below is a list of some of the top Doctors talking about obesity, diabetes and sugar. If you want to see who ranks beyond these influencers shown here then download the full report!
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| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @DrAseemMalhotra | Dr Aseem Malhotra | NHS | 100 |
| 2 | @davidludwigmd | Dr. David Ludwig | Boston Children’s Hospital | 85.21 |
| 3 | @drjasonfung | Dr. Jason Fung | Intensive Dietary Management (IDM Program) | 44.58 |
| 4 | @lowcarbGP | Dr David Unwin | Royal College of General Practitioners | 38.01 |
| 5 | @AnnChildersMD | Dr. Ann Childers | lifebalancenw.com | 18.63 |
TOP CELEBRITIES IN OBESITY, DIABETES AND SUGAR
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @jamieoliver | Jamie Oliver | jamieoliver.com | 100 |
| 2 | @HughFW | Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall | rivercottage.net | 20.91 |
TOP ENTREPRENEURS IN OBESITY, DIABETES AND SUGAR
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @mercola | mercola | Mercola.com | 100 |
| 2 | @ASlavitt | ASlavitt | Town Hall Ventures | 52.88 |
| 3 | @SandroDemaio | SandroDemaio | EAT Forum | 49.83 |
| 4 | @FructoseNo | FructoseNo | Nutrition for Life – Diabetes and Health Research Centre | 44.92 |
| 5 | @BioLayne | BioLayne | Biolayne | 42.16 |
TOP SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS IN OBESITY, DIABETES AND SUGAR
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @raehanbobby | Bobby Umar | raeallan.com | 100 |
| 2 | @LoriShemek | Lori Shemek, PhD | drlorishemek.com | 55.42 |
| 3 | @RogerBezanis | Roger Bezanis | RogerBezanis.com | 38.7 |
| 4 | @cjsnowdon | Christopher Snowdon | Institute of Economic Affairs | 33.31 |
| 5 | @foundmyfitness | Dr. Rhonda Patrick | Found My Fitness | 29.75 |
| 6 | @eugenegu | Eugene Gu, MD | Ganogen Research Institute | 28.09 |
| 7 | @zoeharcombe | Dr Zoe Harcombe, PhD | zoeharcombe.com | 27.42 |
| 8 | @bigfatsurprise | Nina Teicholz | The Nutrition Coalition | 27.21 |
| 9 | @ChrisAskewCE | Chris Askew | Diabetes UK | 27.19 |
| 10 | @NeilFlochMD | Neil Floch MD | American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons | 25.61 |
TOP INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS IN OBESITY, DIABETES AND SUGAR
Below is a list of some of the top industry professionals in obesity, diabetes and sugar. If you want to see who ranks beyond 15 you can download the full report by clicking the button below!
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| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @ProfTimNoakes | Tim Noakes | The Noakes Foundation | 100 |
| 2 | @garytaubes | Gary Taubes | Nutrition Science Initiative | 44.98 |
| 3 | @parthaskar | Partha Kar | Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust | 41.31 |
| 4 | @FatEmperor | Ivor Cummins | thefatemperor.com | 38.4 |
| 5 | @Jandelliott | James Elliott | T1International | 26.44 |
| 6 | @drkdhoffman | Kathleen D. Hoffman | Medivizor | 26.03 |
| 7 | @Jenbul13 | Jennifer Bulcock | jenniferbulcock.com | 25.82 |
| 8 | @MartenRobert | Robert Marten | Council on Foreign Relations | 20.34 |
| 9 | @CureT1Diabetes | Ellen H Ullman Ⓥ | Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services | 20.24 |
| 10 | @janemartinopc | Jane Martin | Obesity Policy Coalition | 20.11 |
| 11 | @Mangan150 | P. D. Mangan 🇺🇸 | roguehealthandfitness.com | 19.12 |
| 12 | @TroKalayjian | Tro Kalayjian | PalisadesMD | 18.94 |
| 13 | @TuckerGoodrich | Tucker Goodrich | yelling-stop.blogspot.com | 16.61 |
| 14 | @TuitNutrition | Amy Berger | Tuit Nutrition | 16.08 |
| 15 | @DavidGWrigley | Dr David Wrigley | NHS | 14.81 |
TOP MEDIA INFLUENCERS IN OBESITY, DIABETES AND SUGAR
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @George_Osborne | George Osborne | Evening Standard | 100 |
| 2 | @MarikaSboros | Marika Sboros | foodmed.net | 31 |
| 3 | @anahadoconnor | Anahad Oconnor | New York Times | 24.89 |
| 4 | @CMattocks1 | Charles Mattocks | Bell and Elle Media | 23.6 |
| 5 | @picardonhealth | André Picard | The Globe and Mail | 21.2 |
| 6 | @MiriamETucker | Miriam E. Tucker | Medscape | 21.11 |
| 7 | @neighbour_s | Sally Neighbour | ABC’s 4 Corners | 19.07 |
| 8 | @Smyth_Chris | Chris Smyth | The Times | 18.59 |
| 9 | @BBCHughPym | Hugh Pym | BBC | 16.96 |
| 10 | @DrCarrieRuxton | Dr Carrie Ruxton RD | Nutrition Communications | 11.01 |
TOP POLITICAL INFLUENCERS IN OBESITY, DIABETES AND SUGAR
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @SenatorCollins | Sen. Susan Collins | United States Senator from Maine | 100 |
| 2 | @amyklobuchar | Amy Klobuchar | Senator for Minnesota (US) | 55.58 |
| 3 | @tom_watson | Tom Watson | Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (UK) | 50.47 |
| 4 | @JonAshworth | Jonathan Ashworth | UK Parliament | 49.97 |
| 5 | @HelenClarkNZ | Helen Clark | helenclarknz.com | 34.65 |
TOP RESEARCHERS IN OBESITY, DIABETES AND SUGAR
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @puddleg | George Henderson | American University of Technology | 100 |
| 2 | @choo_ek | Esther Choo, MD MPH | eqmedicine.com | 59.96 |
MAPPING THE COMMUNITY
Below you can see a network map showing a sample of the online obesity, diabetes and sugar conversations. This map was created with our Influencer Relationship Management software (IRM). If you are interested in learning more about identifying, managing and engaging with influencers click here to get in touch!
TOP BRANDS IN OBESITY, DIABETES AND SUGAR
Below is a list of the top 50 brands in obesity, diabetes and sugar. If you want to see who ranks from 1-100 be sure to download the full report by clicking the download button below!
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| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @DiabetesUK | Diabetes UK | 100 |
| 2 | @AmDiabetesAssn | Amer. Diabetes Assn. | 90.29 |
| 3 | @NHSEngland | NHS England | 70.67 |
| 4 | @WHO | World Health Organization (WHO) | 65.92 |
| 5 | @PHE_uk | Public Health England | 61.59 |
| 6 | @JDRF | JDRF | 59.66 |
| 7 | @Diabetescouk | Diabetes.co.uk | 52.56 |
| 8 | @LillyDiabetes | Lilly Diabetes | 48.44 |
| 9 | @US_FDA | U.S. FDA | 45.57 |
| 10 | @DiabetesMine | DiabetesMine | 42.86 |
| 11 | @JDRFUK | JDRF UK | 40.06 |
| 12 | @t1international | T1International | 39.1 |
| 13 | @4corners | 4corners | 38.8 |
| 14 | @virtahealth | Virta | 35.84 |
| 15 | @NHSuk | NHS | 35.49 |
| 16 | @medivizor | Medivizor | 32.92 |
| 17 | @SAfoodforlife | Food for Life | 31.73 |
| 18 | @_PHAA_ | Public Health Association Australia | 31.63 |
| 19 | @IntDiabetesFed | Int. Diabetes Fed. | 30.72 |
| 20 | @NHSDiabetesProg | NHSDiabetesProgramme | 28.05 |
| 21 | @BeyondType1 | Beyond Type 1 | 25.94 |
| 22 | @OPCAustralia | Obesity Coalition | 25.23 |
| 23 | @actiononsugar | Action On Sugar | 24.69 |
| 24 | @harvardmed | Harvard Medical School | 24.36 |
| 25 | @PBlueNovember | Project BlueNovember | 22.38 |
| 26 | @DiabetesAus | Diabetes Australia | 22.24 |
| 27 | @refindhealth | Re-Find Health | 21.29 |
| 28 | @OHA_updates | Obesity Health Alliance | 20.99 |
| 29 | @TheEndoSociety | Endocrine Society | 20.74 |
| 30 | @pahowho | PAHO/WHO | 20.6 |
| 31 | @HarvardChanSPH | HarvardPublicHealth | 19.69 |
| 32 | @RightCareNow | Right Care Alliance | 18.05 |
| 33 | @TandemDiabetes | Tandem Diabetes Care | 17.88 |
| 34 | @JoslinDiabetes | Joslin Diabetes Cntr | 16.64 |
| 35 | @rcgp | RCGP | 16.47 |
| 36 | @UniofOxford | Oxford University | 16.46 |
| 37 | @LillyPad | Eli Lilly and Company | 16.36 |
| 38 | @CR_UK | Cancer Research UK | 16.16 |
| 39 | @DailyHealthTips | Daily Health Tips | 15.63 |
| 40 | @CSPI | CSPI | 15.53 |
| 41 | @CrossFit | CrossFit | 15.45 |
| 42 | @ama_media | AMA Media | 15.33 |
| 43 | @NICEcomms | NICE | 15.08 |
| 44 | @INPUTdiabetes | INPUTdiabetes | 14.94 |
| 45 | @OfficialNIHR | NIHR Research | 14.74 |
| 46 | @JDRFAdvocacy | JDRF Advocacy | 14.07 |
| 47 | @GlookoInc | Glooko, Inc. | 14.07 |
| 48 | @BDA_Dietitians | BDA British Dietetic Association | 13.54 |
| 49 | @RCPCHtweets | RCPCH | 13.32 |
| 50 | @WorldObesity | World Obesity | 13.07 |
TOP 50 PUBLICATIONS IN OBESITY, DIABETES AND SUGAR
Below is a list of the top 50 publications in obesity, diabetes and sugar. If you want to see who ranks from 1-100 be sure to download the full report!
DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @bmj_latest | The BMJ | 100 |
| 2 | @BBCNews | BBC News (UK) | 95.45 |
| 3 | @TheLancet | The Lancet | 82.65 |
| 4 | @guardian | The Guardian | 77.45 |
| 5 | @nytimes | The New York Times | 73.33 |
| 6 | @SkyNews | Sky News | 63.04 |
| 7 | @JAMA_current | JAMA | 59.21 |
| 8 | @WSJ | The Wall Street Journal | 54.8 |
| 9 | @NatureRevEndo | NatureRevEndocrinol | 53.22 |
| 10 | @NEJM | NEJM | 50.75 |
| 11 | @bbchealth | BBC Health News | 50.61 |
| 12 | @CNN | CNN | 50.18 |
| 13 | @abcnews | ABC News | 49.34 |
| 14 | @alldiabetesnews | DiabetesNews.com | 46.7 |
| 15 | @diaTribeNews | diaTribe | 46.43 |
| 16 | @DiabetologiaJnl | Diabetologia | 45.72 |
| 17 | @itvnews | ITV News | 44.03 |
| 18 | @Reuters | Reuters Top News | 42.53 |
| 19 | @TheEconomist | The Economist | 41.34 |
| 20 | @AP | The Associated Press | 39.95 |
| 21 | @bioDiabetes | Diabetes News | 38.27 |
| 22 | @DiabetesCxns | Diabetes Connections | 35.45 |
| 23 | @Daily_Express | Daily Express | 34.67 |
| 24 | @DailyMailUK | Daily Mail U.K. | 34.53 |
| 25 | @TheLancetEndo | The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology | 34.29 |
| 26 | @BJSM_BMJ | BJSM | 33.01 |
| 27 | @mnt | Medical News Today | 32.88 |
| 28 | @BBC | BBC | 32.87 |
| 29 | @JAMAInternalMed | JAMA Internal Medicine | 31.02 |
| 30 | @LBC | LBC | 30.51 |
| 31 | @ABC | ABC News | 29.56 |
| 32 | @Telegraph | The Telegraph | 29.45 |
| 33 | @WebMD | WebMD | 29.32 |
| 34 | @newscientist | New Scientist | 28.83 |
| 35 | @bopinion | Bloomberg Opinion | 28.71 |
| 36 | @MobiHealthNews | MobiHealthNews | 28.35 |
| 37 | @cnni | CNN International | 27.98 |
| 38 | @Healthline | Healthline | 27.3 |
| 39 | @diabetesdaily | Diabetes Daily | 27.17 |
| 40 | @nytopinion | NYT Opinion | 26.96 |
| 41 | @CBSNews | CBS News | 26.69 |
| 42 | @CNBC | CNBC | 26.14 |
| 43 | @Diabetes4cast | Diabetes Forecast | 25.22 |
| 44 | @business | Bloomberg | 25.11 |
| 45 | @Independent | The Independent | 24.16 |
| 46 | @MensHealthMag | Men’s Health Mag | 22.61 |
| 47 | @InsulinNation | Insulin Nation | 22.41 |
| 48 | @thenation | The Nation | 22.12 |
| 49 | @TheSun | The Sun | 22.12 |
| 50 | @goodhealth | Health | 22 |
At Onalytica we love building these lists and want to give back to our loyal readers as much as we can. If you’re interested in other topics (such as Virtual Reality, Digital Health, Digital Marketing) be sure to have a look on our blog or why not propose some topics to us on Twitter?
Effective influencer marketing starts with identifying relevant influencers for your brand. Onalytica’s new Discovery platform mines over 200 billion posts a year into a curated database of over 500K global social media influencers, including data from Twitter, Blogs, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn Profile Links + Demographic Data. Our software enables you to identify influencers by topic, demographic or content and includes real-time tracking and measurement reporting to scale your influencer relations.
Disclaimer: As ever with these lists, it must be stressed that the ranking is by no means a definitive measurement of influence, as there is no such thing. The brands, individuals and publications listed here are undoubtedly influential when it comes to driving discussion around obesity, diabetes and sugar.
The PageRank based methodology we use to extract influencers on a particular topic takes into account the number and quality of contextual references that a user receives. We looked at social
topical influence as well as topical authority by analyzing both their social engagement on Twitter and how much influencers were referenced in association with business intelligence on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Forums, Blogs, News and Tumblr content. These calculations also take in to account a user’s resonance (engagement) relevance (number of posts on topic) and reach (number of followers). If you want to learn more, please read our article that outlines How to identify your target influencers.
TAGS
Obesity, Diabetes and the Sugar Problem
Top Influencers, Brands and Publications
Download this free report which reveals the top influencers, brands and publications in Obesity, Diabetes and Sugar