Personal Transformation Narratives on Instagram
An AI-Assisted Content Analysis of Ibai Llanos’s “Physical Change” Challenge
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65598/rps.6286Keywords:
Ibai Llanos, Instagram, physical change, influencers, content analysis, digital narrativeAbstract
This study examines how Ibai Llanos constructs and narrates his personal transformation through the “Physical Change” challenge on Instagram, focusing on the discursive, visual, and narrative elements that shape this process. A qualitative content analysis was conducted on a corpus of 70 reels published between June 26 and October 26, 2024. The initial coding was carried out by three researchers and was subsequently contrasted through a complementary AI-assisted analysis, following a methodological protocol based on prompt registration, data preprocessing, traceability, and reliability assessment. In addition, a longitudinal narrative analysis was applied to reconstruct the evolution of the story over time. The findings show that exercise is the dominant thematic axis, while self-discovery, weight change, nutrition, and community interaction provide emotional depth and verifiability to the process. The narrative is organized into five recurring moments: initial situation, action, evaluation, resolution, and future projection. The study concludes that the “Physical Change” challenge is not merely a record of workout routines, but a serialized narrative of physical, emotional, and social transformation based on vulnerability, authenticity, and community support.
Downloads
References
Aguilera-Garcia, I. (2023). Journalists and comedians in the new digital age: a discussion on Spanish audiovisual infotainment between professionals and consumers. Profesional de la información, 32(6). https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2023.nov.08
Archer, A., & Robb, C. M. (2024). Influencers as role models. Celebrity Studies, 15(2), 128-142. https://doi.org/10.1080/19392397.2024.2341594
Bak, M., Priniski, J. H., & Chin, J. (2023). Representations of Health and Wellness on Instagram: An Analysis of Posting Behavior of Top-Ranked Health Influencers. International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, (págs. 10-20). Copenhagen. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36001-5_2
Bálint, K., & Bilandzic, H. (2017). Health communication through media narratives: Factors, processes, and effects: Introduction. International Journal of Communication, 11, 4858-4864. https://acortar.link/p1iCth
Bandura, A. (1995). Self-efficacy in changing societies. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511527692
Bandura, A. (2021). Analysis of modeling processes. En A. Bandura, Psychological modeling (págs. 1-62). Routledge. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003110156-1
Barthes, R., Eco, U., & Todorov, T. (1982). Análisis estructural del relato. Editorial Tiempo Contemporáneo.
Chang, T., Chopra, V., Z. C., & Woolford, S. J. (2013). The role of social media in online weight management: systematic review. Journal of medical Internet research, 15(11). https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.2852
Conde, A. C., Martínez, J. J., Teruel, J. L., Lorite, N. M., Marcos, M. C., Freixa-Pamias, R., & ... Villota, J. N. (2024). Obesidad y enfermedad cardiovascular y renal. Posicionamiento de las Asociaciones de Cardiología Preventiva: Cardiología Clínica e Insuficiencia Cardiaca de la SEC. REC: CardioClinics, 59(3), 212-224. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rccl.2024.04.003
Cook, T., & Reichardt, C. (1986). Métodos cualitativos y cuantitativos en investigación evaluativa. Madrid: Morata.
Dahlstrom, M. F., Niederdeppe, J., Gao, L., & Zhu, X. (2017). Operational and Conceptual Trends in Narrative Persuasion Research: Comparing Health-and Non-Health-Related Contexts. International Journal of Communication, 11. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/6629
Fernández-García, J. M., Romero-Secin, A., & Rubín-García, M. (2025). Asociación entre obesidad y Long-Covid: una revisión narrativa. Medicina de Familia. SEMERGEN, 51(3). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semerg.2024.102390
Gebbers, T., De Wit, J. B., & Appel, M. (2017). Transportation Into Narrative Worlds and the Motivation to Change Health-Related Behavior. International Journal of Communication, 11. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/6977/2203
González, G. O., Curiel, C. P., & López, J. R. (2020). Efecto del influencer sobre el nivel de engagement en publicaciones de Instagram. REDMARKA. Revista de marketing aplicado, 24(2), 76-94. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.17979/redma.2020.24.2.7069
Goyanes, M., & De-Marcos, L. (2025). Protocolo metodológico para el desarrollo de análisis. Anuario ThinkEPI, 19, e19a03. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3145/thinkepi.2025.e19a07
Gutiérrez Lozano, J. F. & Cuartero, A. (2022). La construcción mediática de los ídolos juveniles de Twitch: los creadores de contenido y su pre-sencia creciente en los medios españoles. AdComunica, (23), 251-274. http://dx.doi.org/10.6035/adcomunica.5936
Holmes, S., Moorhead, A., Bond, R., Zheng, H., Coates, V., & McTear, M. (2019). WeightMentor, bespoke chatbot for weight loss maintenance: Needs assessment & Development. IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine (BIBM). https://doi.org/10.1109/BIBM47256.2019.8983073
Huang, Z., Ning, P., Cheng, P., & Hu, G. (2016). Progress in research of mobile health intervention. Chinese Journal of Endemiology, 37(10), 1430-1434. https://doi.org/10.3760/cma.j.issn.0254-6450.2016.10.022
Johnson, L. P., Asigbee, F. M., Crowell, R., & Negrini, A. (2018). Pre-surgical, surgical and post-surgical experiences of weight loss surgery patients: a closer look at social determinants of health. Clinical Obesity, 8(4), 265-274. https://doi.org/10.1111/cob.12251
Kaňková, J., Binder, A., & Matthes, J. (2024). Health-Related Communication of Social Media Influencers: A Scoping Review. Health Communication, 1-14. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2024.2397268
Kreps, G. (1988). The Pervasive Role of Information in Health and Health Care: Implications for Health Communication Policy. Annals of the International Communication Association , 11(1), 238-276. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.1988.11678690
Kreps, G., Neuhauser, y., & Linda. (2015). Designing health information programs to promote the health and well-being of vulnerable populations. En Meeting Health Information Needs Outside Of Healthcare: Opportunities and Challenges (págs. 3-17). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780081002483000019
Krippendorf, K. (1980). Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodologies. Londres: Sage.
Llanos, I. [@ibaillanos]. (2024, 23 de septiembre). Día 53 de cambio físico. Empiezo a correr. Todavía me acuerdo [Vídeo]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAQ0wQzMfT9/
Lee, E. J., Kim, H. S., & Joo, M. H. (2022). Social Media vs. Mass Media: Mitigating the Suspicion of Ulterior Motives in Public Health Communication. Health Communication, 29(11), 2450-2460. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2022.2074781
Lozano-Chacon, B., Suarez-Lledo, V., & Alvarez-Galvez, J. (2021). Use and Effectiveness of Social-Media-Delivered Weight Loss Interventions among Teenagers and Young Adults: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(16), 8493. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168493
Manuvinakurike, R., Velicer, W. F., & Bickmore, T. W. (2014). Automated indexing of Internet stories for health behavior change: Weight loss attitude pilot study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 16(12). https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.3702
Martin-Vicario, L., Bustos Díaz, J., & Nicolas-Sans, R. (2023). Weight Loss App Descriptors in App Stores: A Qualitative Analysis of the Spanish Market. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 1-7. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/4104229
Martin-Vicario, L., Bustos Díaz, J., & Nicolas-Sans, R. (2024). Evolution of the obesity epidemic in the Spanish press: A comparative study 2000–05 and 2015–20. Catalan Journal of Communication & Cultural Studies, 16(1), 25-4. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1386/cjcs_00097_1
Martínez-Sanz, R., Y Fernández, C. G. (2018). Brand Communication on Instagram, a Gender Issue? The Role of the Fashion Influencer. Masculinities & Social Change, 7(3), 230–254. https://doi.org/10.17583/mcs.2018.3693
Mazurkiewicz, N., Lipowski, M., Krefta, J., & Lipowska, M. (2021). “Better if they laugh with me than at me”: the role of humor in coping with obesity-related stigma in women. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(15), 7974. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18157974
Moorhead, S. A., Hazlett, D. E., Harrison, L., Carroll, J. K., Irwin, A., & Hoving, C. (2013). A new dimension of health care: Systematic review of the uses, benefits, and limitations of social media for health communication. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 15(4). https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.1933
Moreno, G. M. (2012). Definición y clasificación de la obesidad. Revista Médica Clínica Las Condes, 23(2), 124-128. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0716-8640(12)70288-2
Noriega Alarcón, S. P., Benavides Espinoza, M. F., Buenaño Vijay, D. F., Sandoval Vela, A. D., & Pazmiño Montoya, C. R. (2026). Alfabetización digital en salud (eHealth literacy) como estrategia de promoción y prevención en salud pública. Revista Colincing De Estudios Multidisciplinarios, 2(1), e14. https://doi.org/10.61347/rcem.v2i1.e14
Okuhara T, Okada H, Yokota R and Kagawa Y (2025) Redefining health communication through narrative intersection: opening closed narratives and co-creating meaning. Front. Commun. 10:1672808. doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2025.1672808
Organización Mundial de la Salud. (1 de marzo de 2024). Obesidad y sobrepeso. https://www.who.int/es/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight
Portz, J., Moore, S., & Bull, S. (2024). Evolutionary Trends in the Adoption, Adaptation, and Abandonment of Mobile Health Technologies: Viewpoint Based on 25 Years of Research. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 26. https://doi.org/10.2196/62790
Prochaska, J. O., & Velicer, W. F. (1997). The transtheoretical model of health behavior change. American Journal of Health Promotion, 12(1), 38-48. https://doi.org/10.4278/0890-1171-12.1.38
Riessman, C. (2002). Narrative analysis. En A. M. Huberman, & M. B. Miles, Narrative analysis (págs. 216-270). SAGE. https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412986274.n10
Riessman, C. K. (2007). Narrative methods for the human sciences. SAGE. https://doi.org/https://us2.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/narrative-methods-for-the-human-sciences/book226139
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68 - 78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68
Sagredo Pérez, J. S., & Allo, G. (2025). Tratamiento farmacológico de la obesidad. Situación actual y nuevos tratamientos. Atención Primaria, 57(1). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aprim.2024.103074
Society for Health Communication. (2017). Definition of Health Communication. https://www.societyforhealthcommunication.org/health-communication
Suder, A., & Durucu, M. (2013). ICT in healthcare management, developments, and applications in Turkish health sector. En Handbook of Research on ICTs and Management Systems for Improving Efficiency in Healthcare and Social Care (págs. 650-671). https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-6339-8.ch005
Thibodeau, P. H., Uri, R., Thompson, B., & Flusberg, S. J. (2017). Narratives for Obesity: Effects of Weight Loss and Attribution on Empathy and Policy Support. Health Education and Behavior, 44(4), 638-547. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198116684794
Wang, Y., & Willis, E. (2018). Supporting self-efficacy through interactive discussion in online communities of weight loss. Journal of Health Psychology, 23(10), 1309-1320. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105316653264
WHO Consultation on Obesity (1999: Geneva, Switzerland) & World Health Organization. (2000). Obesity : preventing and managing the global epidemic : report of a WHO consultation. World Health Organization. https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/42330
Willoughby, J. F., Couto, L., Kang, S., Randall, J., Kirkpatrick, A. W., Lee, D. K., & ... Domgaard, S. (2024). An Exploratory Content Analysis of the Use of Health Communication Strategies and Presence of Objectification in Fitness Influencer Social Media Posts. Health Communication, 39(5), 888-895. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2190248
Zhou, X., & Krishnan, A. (2019). What Predicts Exercise Maintenance and Well-Being? Examining The Influence of Health-Related Psychographic Factors and Social Media Communication. Health Communication, 24(6), 589-597. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2018.1428851
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Authors retain copyright and transfer to the journal the right of first publication and publishing rights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Those authors who publish in this journal accept the following terms:
-
Authors retain copyright.
-
Authors transfer to the journal the right of first publication. The journal also owns the publishing rights.
-
All published contents are governed by an Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Access the informative version and legal text of the license. By virtue of this, third parties are allowed to use what is published as long as they mention the authorship of the work and the first publication in this journal. If you transform the material, you may not distribute the modified work. -
Authors may make other independent and additional contractual arrangements for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the article published in this journal (e.g., inclusion in an institutional repository or publication in a book) as long as they clearly indicate that the work was first published in this journal.
- Authors are allowed and recommended to publish their work on the Internet (for example on institutional and personal websites), following the publication of, and referencing the journal, as this could lead to constructive exchanges and a more extensive and quick circulation of published works (see The Effect of Open Access).
