Facebook use and disordered eating behaviors

Social media usage has been linked to disordered eating behaviors, which is common among college-aged women. A study published on the Journal of Adolescent Health examined the trend and found and inverse relationship between high intensity Facebook usage and disordered eating.

In the United States, 90% of college-aged women were active Facebook users, according to 2012 Pew Research Center data. Women aged 18–29 years represented the largest number of Facebook users.

Through an 185-item online survey, researchers asked 128 college-aged women about disordered eating, Facebook use intensity, online physical appearance comparison, online fat talk, body mass index, depression, anxiety, perfectionism, impulsivity, and self-efficacy. The study also examined how physical appearance comparison with Facebook friends’ impacted one’s body image concerns.

Using regression analyses, the researchers found that Facebook intensity, online physical appearance comparison, and online fat talk were significantly and uniquely associated with disordered eating. However, greater Facebook intensity was associated with decreased disordered eating behavior, whereas both online physical appearance comparison and online fat talk were associated with greater disordered eating.

College-aged women who endorsed greater Facebook intensity were less likely to struggle with disordered eating when online physical appearance comparison was accounted for statistically. The researchers concluded that Facebook intensity may carry both risks and benefits for disordered eating.

Interested in reading more about this topic? Here's where:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4514918/