A viral trend on Fittok has ‘gym bros’ adding dog food to their meal plans

ONLINE “gym dudes” have posted videos of themselves eating dog food in an effort to increase their protein intake, leaving other social media users worried.

In one Tiktok video that has garnered over 21 million views, user Henry Clarisey (@henry.fit) draws attention to the nutrition information for Pedigree dog food on Myfitnesspal, which claims that it contains 666 grams of protein.

“Which one of you guys are going to take one for the team?” Clarisey asks his followers, before announcing he will do it if he can reach 15 000 likes.

In a subsequent video, the gym enthusiast consumes the dog chow, telling himself “it’s for the gains”, before spitting it out and declaring, “It’s not worth it”. The video has received almost 3 million views.

Health regulators claim some substances in dog food can be dangerous to humans, despite its high protein content. In another video, Clarisey tried cat food after someone commented it contained even more protein. There were 3.3 million views of that video.

The Tiktok fitness influencer said he “needed to try it” after viewing the nutrition statistics in an interview with Buzzfeed News. However, he immediately responded that if pressed, he wouldn't do it again.

He said in the video, which earned more than 300 000 likes: “The dog food had a very dry taste. After eating it, I was really thirsty. Tasted like tiny chunks of mud, and I don’t believe it was worth the price. Even if it has a lot of protein, I’d rather have steak or protein powder.”

The clip of Clarisey eating the dog food elicited scores of comments, with some people expressing disgust, others interest and many seeing the funny side.

“You’re braver than me,” said one user.

“Blend it with a single banana; it will cancel out any other flavour,” advised one person.

“Dog food ain’t that bad. I used to MUNCH as a kid,” wrote another Tik Tok user.

“It’s def worth it, he just tryna gatekeep,” someone else added.

Clarisey is undoubtedly not the only one who has had this idea. Other social media users have posted nowviral videos of themselves either tasting dog food or making jokes about trying it.

In one Tiktok video, a man is shown loading dog food into his trolley while joking he is buying it in preparation for when they get a dog. Later he is seen using a spoon to eat the dog food out of the can.

Another Tiktok user said the protein-to-weight ratio indicated on the label of a brand of dog food was “bonkers”. He also promised to consume the food if he earned 5 000 likes.

The funniest video in this trend comes from a Tiktok user who appeared in front of text that read “300 grams of protein in 100 grams of dog food”, before cutting to a person writing “me AF” while wearing a dog costume.

If you’re thinking of giving it a try, think again. Health officials on Tiktok have warned that although it makes your pet’s tail wag, it may not be good for you.

Dog food, while safe for animals, sometimes deviates from the standards that human food must meet, according to Melissa Majumdar, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, speaking to Buzzfeed.

Although most elements in dog food are similar to those in the human diet, Majumdar explained that dogs have different nutritional needs to people and dog food is designed to satisfy their needs. Dog food also includes ingredients we shouldn’t consume a lot of, including animal fat and chicken by-products.

While some dog food products do claim to be “human grade”, a vet said the term has little meaning.

Officials from Pedigree refuted any claims that their product would be dangerous to humans. In a statement sent to Buzzfeed, the company said although their products were meant for dogs and cats, they were not harmful to humans.

“The manufacturing procedures and research that go into our products are comparable to, and in some cases even superior to, those used by producers of human food,” the company said.

Health professionals, however, maintain dog food generally does not satisfy the nutritional needs of humans.