COVID-19, nutrition and mental health emerged as the most mentioned trends among the health and wellness influencer discussions on Twitter during the third quarter (Q3) of 2020, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

The discussions related to COVID-19 were largely driven by how the virus can be crushed with simple changes in lifestyle until the vaccines arrive, majorly focusing on metabolic health, as patients with metabolic syndrome are at higher risk of infection.

Nutrition emerged as another most mentioned trend, led by surge in discussions related to the nutritious diet tips to boost immunity shared by leading health and wellness experts. It was followed by Mental health in Q3 2020, as mental well-being of people including children has been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The negative consequences of school closures have profound impact on children’s mental health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has emerged as the most mentioned organisation among the health and wellness influencer discussions during the quarter, followed by the University of Toronto, and Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

Smitarani Tripathy, Influencer Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The discussions around CDC rose due to an updated guideline on COVID-19 testing issued in August, which stated that people without any symptoms of COVID-19 should be exempted from testing, despite exposure to the virus recently. However, the guidelines were revised in September due to the significance of asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission.”

GlobalData’s Health and Wellness Influencer Platform, which tracks more than 200 leading industry experts and their discussions pertaining to the emerging trends, pain areas, new fields of innovation and other popular areas on Twitter, revealed Lori Shemek,  nutrition and weight loss expert, as the top influencer during Q3 2020. Shemek largely shares updates on health, nutrition, and weight loss. She is also the producer of a weight loss podcast ‘The podcast that burns fat’.

Andre Picard, health columnist at The Globe and Mail, emerged as the next top influencer among the health and wellness experts with an influencer score of 70, followed by Liz Weiss, founder of LizsHealthyTable.com, with an influencer score of 63. Picard is the author of bestseller ‘Matters of Life and Death’ and shares updates on various health issues.