By: Eric Mittenthal   Date: 3/22/10

This past weekend I had the unique opportunity to attend and present at the first ever Fitbloggin conference.  The conference which was arranged by Roni Noone of Roni’s Weigh was an opportunity for health, fitness and nutrition bloggers to come together, talk shop and connect in a new way.  I have to admit, I’ve been to conferences before, but this one was unlike any other I’ve come across.

My Fitbloggin Experience

What struck me most about the folks at Fitbloggin was the passion that everyone had about health and fitness.  Sure you get people who are passionate about these topics at other conferences, but at those it’s typically a professional audience.  At this conference it was nearly 200 people(a sell out) who mostly don’t get paid for what they do.  Instead they share their experiences with the world and often reveal intimate details about themselves solely because of their passion for the topic and life experience of dieting and working out.  It was clear that many at the conference already had solid relationships though online interactions and those relationships were no doubt strengthened over a weekend of face to face bonding.

Fitbloggin Topics

The conference covered a wide range of topics from how to pitch to the media to search engine optimization to our topic, how to critically evaluate science.  I’m biased because I led the session, but to me it is one of critical importance for bloggers as their audiences grow and they write about many of the controversial topics in health and nutrition. Fortunately the resources exist for bloggers, journalists and anyone else who writes about science to learn how to do it well.  One of those is our own Guidelines for Communicating Nutrition, Food Safety and Health Science which we put together with the help of the Harvard School of Public Health more than a decade ago.  While the guidelines have been around for years now, they stand up as an easy guide to evaluating science.  Of course even when you evaluate the science, you still have to make sure your messaging is solid.  For that we got great insight from Registered Dietitian and author Dave Grotto who presented on the ADA’s Ten Red Flags of Junk Science:

1) Recommendations that promise a quick fix
2) Dire warnings of danger from a single product, food or regimen
3) Claims that sound too good to be true
4) Simplistic conclusions from a complex study
5) Recommendations based on a single study
6) Dramatic statements refuted by reputable scienfitic organizations
7) Lists of “good” or “bad” foods
8) Recommendations made to help sell a product
9) Recommendations based on studies that aren’t peer reviewed
10) Recommendations from studies that ignore differences among individuals or groups

I hope the attendees walked away from our session at least with a better understanding of science and comfort knowing they can come to the International Food Information Council Foundation for help. 

I walked away from the conference with a greater appreciation of bloggers and the passion they bring to their work.  I heard over and over all weekend how everyone hopes there’s a Fitbloggin ’11.  Count me in if there is.