Could Facebook trigger eating disorders?

Women in their late teens and early 20s were more likely to compare their own body with that of their friends if they spent more time on social media, and Facebook in particular.Researchers found a connection between increased negative feelings about their appearance and the young women’s Facebook number of hours, something which could lead to eating disorders and depression.The study inquired into how often women of university age in Britain and the U.S. compared their bodies with their peers in relation to Facebook use, diet and exercise habits and body image.Researchers were able to predict how often women felt negatively about their own bodies after looking at someone else’s photos or posts, and how often women compared their own bodies to those of their friends.The more time a young woman spends on Facebook, the likelier she is to have negative feelings associated with her own body and the more she will compare her own to the bodies of friends.The study also found that women who want to lose weight pay more attention to their physical appearance the more time they spend on Facebook.A 2013 survey found that 76 per cent of women want to lose at least 'a few pounds'. Two thirds of respondents used Facebook as their social media of choice and 75 per cent spend at least one hour a day on the platform.Although more than half said other people's Facebook posts about fitness and health inspired them, 22 per cent felt envious and 15 per cent said it made them feel guilty if they aren’t currently sticking to their own diet and fitness routine, according to women’s online magazine SheKnows.Previous studies have examined college or adolescent girls and the effect of Facebook on users’ body image over non-users’. However, this is the first study to link time spent on Facebook to poor body image.Petya Eckler, of the University of Strathclyde, Yusuf Kalyango, of Ohio University; and Ellen Paasch, of the University of Iowa, are due to present their findings at the 64th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association in Seattle.Doctor Eckler said: ‘Public health professionals who work in the area of eating disorders and their prevention now have clear evidence of how social media relates to college women’s body image and eating disorders.‘While time spent on Facebook had no relation to eating disorders, it did predict worse body image among participants.‘As experts in the field know, poor body image can gradually lead to developing an unhealthy relationship with food.‘The attention to physical attributes may be even more dangerous on social media than on traditional media because participants in social media are people we know. 'These comparisons are much more relevant and hit closer to home. 'Yet they may be just as unrealistic as the images we see on traditional media.’(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az