Analysis of Public Perception and Demand for anti-inflammatory diet: Text Mining Based on Web Crawling (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Chronic low-grade inflammation constitutes a pathological basis for the development of various chronic noncommunicable diseases, influenced by multiple factors including diet. the anti-inflammatory diet, as an emerging dietary concept, is gaining increasing attention. This dietary approach aims to reduce systemic inflammation levels by optimizing dietary composition, yet public awareness remains limited. OBJECTIVE This study aims to assess public awareness, information needs, and emotional attitudes toward anti-inflammatory diet via social media platforms, providing insights for future research and promotion strategies. METHODS Using Octopus Collector, we retrieved text posts containing the keyword "anti-inflammatory diet" from two social media platforms Xiao Hongshu and TikTok, collecting primary comment data related to anti-inflammatory diet. LDA thematic modeling was employed to extract latent comment themes. ROSTCM 6.0 software conducted high-frequency word statistics, semantic network analysis, and thematic sentiment analysis on the comment text data to identify public focus areas, core themes, and sentiment tendencies regarding anti-inflammatory diet. RESULTS A total of 4,607 comments were collected. “Anti-inflammatory”, “vegetables”, “food”, “pro-inflammatory”, “fruits”,“whole grains”, “spices”, “inflammation”, “fish”, “dairy products” are the top ten most frequently occurring terms. Thematic analysis identified five themes: - Perception and Selection of Anti-Inflammatory Foods - Controversy and Restrictions on Pro-Inflammatory Foods - Dietary Habits and Recommendations - Feedback on Anti-Inflammatory Diet Experiences - Barriers to Practicing anti-inflammatory diet Positive sentiment accounted for 34.23%, neutral sentiment for 46.02%, and negative sentiment for 19.75%. CONCLUSIONS Overall, the public demonstrates a generally sound level of awareness regarding anti-inflammatory diet. There exists a diverse, specialised, and nuanced demand for information on anti-inflammatory diet among the public. Assessing public awareness and requirements concerning anti-inflammatory diet through social media platforms can help provide foundational information for promoting and disseminating such dietary approaches among the populace. Professional, detailed, and comprehensive information services should be developed to address the public's varied needs, thereby offering strategic guidance and a sound basis for the positive development of anti-inflammatory diet information dissemination.