Doctor and health influencer Ari Miettinen dies at 50
Ari Miettinen, a doctor and social media influencer known for his outspoken views on health, has died at the age of 50. Miettinen passed away in his sleep on 31 July in Kuopio, Savon Sanomat reports.
Born in Tuusniemi on 19 January 1976, Miettinen had a long career in medicine, spanning approximately 25 years. He graduated as a doctor in Kuopio and worked primarily in emergency and acute care in Eastern Finland (Ilta-Sanomat).
Miettinen was diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), a rare congenital condition also known as brittle bone disease, during his secondary school years (Iltalehti).
In recent years, Miettinen gained prominence as a health influencer, particularly through his social media content. His videos often focused on human metabolic health and sparked discussions within the medical community. One of his most notable posts was a TikTok video in April, in which he criticized Fazer’s Fazerina cake, calling it harmful to metabolic health. The video triggered a widespread debate online (Iltalehti).
Following the post, some of Miettinen’s social media accounts were closed. In a subsequent video, he suggested that Fazer had played a role in the closures. Miettinen later revealed that he had been in contact with authorities and had undergone an involuntary psychiatric evaluation. After the controversy, the Fazerina cake was dubbed the "forced treatment cake" on social media (Iltalehti).
The incident drew further attention in May when another social media doctor, Atte Virolainen, commented on the matter in a Facebook post. Virolainen argued that in Finland, doctors—or anyone else—should be free to criticize ultra-processed foods without facing account closures or pressure to undergo psychiatric evaluations (Iltalehti).
