How social media use can lead to body image concerns and eating disorders

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-03-23 05:00

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Social media usage can lead to body image concerns, eating disorders/disordered eating, and poor mental health, according to international researchers who looked at data from 50 studies in 17 countries. The team found that exposure to social media trends, pro-eating disorder content, appearance-focused platforms and investment in photos, combined with high BMI, female gender, and preexisting body image concerns increased the risk of body image and eating disorders in young people. The authors say the burden of body image dissatisfaction and eating disorders as a global health issue has been ignored for too long. The rise of social media has reinforced the need to turn attention to the ‘Cinderella disease’ of mental health.