Influence of social networks sites on eating attitudes and body satisfaction of young women: a systematic review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12957/demetra.2024.73768Abstract
Introduction: There is evidence of an association between the use of social networks and the appearance of eating disorders and negative body images in young women. Objective: Systematically review scientific evidence concerning the influence of social networks on eating attitudes and body satisfaction to identify the principal aspects related to negative behavior in young women (17 to 44 years old). Method: This systematic literature review includes primary observational studies carried out with healthy women. The searches were carried out on August 23rd, 2022, in the databases Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, PsycINFO and the Virtual Health Library (VHL). All the steps were independently carried out by three reviewers, and the methodological quality of the studies was evaluated using the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) Item Bank. A synthetic narrative was then produced. Results: Sixteen observational studies complied with the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. The general use of social networks and of specific activities (selfies, investment in the selection of photos), involvement (appreciate, leave messages/ comments) and the following of ‘health & fitness’ and ‘fitspiration’ contents were associated with body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. A comparison of appearances seems to be the principal mediator in this association, with self-compassion exerting a positive effect on attenuating the effects. Conclusion: The general use and use of specific activities of social networks contributed to body dissatisfaction and eating disorders in young women by way of a comparison of appearances. We hope such information helps health professionals in preventive orientation.
References
Oliveira LL, Hutz CS. Transtornos alimentares: o papel dos aspectos culturais no mundo contemporâneo.Psicol Estud. [Acesso 15 out 2022]. 2010;15(3):575-582. Disponível em: https://www.scielo.br/j/pe/a/MGVrVGGrjn8VPDYyCqdmNLj/?format=pdf&lang=pt.
Ainett WSO, Costa VVL, Sá NNB. Fatores associados à insatisfação com a imagem corporal em estudantes de nutrição. Rev. bras. obes., nutr. emagrecimento. [Acesso 15 out 2022]. 2017;11(62):75-78. Disponível em: http://www.rbone.com.br/index.php/rbone/article/view/487/419.
Bucchianeri MM, Arikian AJ, Hannan PJ, Eisenberg ME, NeumarkSztainer D. Body dissatisfaction from adolescence to Young adulthood: findings from a 10-year longitudinal study. BodyImage. 2013;10(1):1-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2012.09.001
Souza MCDFP, Souza LV, Barroso SM, Scorsolini-Comin F. Padrões alimentares e imagem corporal em mulheres frequentadoras de academia de atividade física. Psico-USF. 2013;18(3):445-54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1413-82712013000300011
Garcia CA, Castro TG, Soares RM. Comportamento alimentar e imagem corporal entre estudantes de nutrição de uma universidade pública de Porto Alegre – RS. Rev. HCPA. [Acesso 15 out 2022]. 2010;30(3):219-224. Disponível em: https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/hcpa/article/view/15660/9826.
Silva WR, Barra JV, Neves NA, Maroco J, Campos JADB. Pressão sociocultural: um modelo de insatisfação corporal para mulheres jovens.Cad. saúde pública. 2020;26(11). https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-311X00059220
Reba-Harrelson L, Von Holle A, Hamer RM, Swann R, Reyes ML, Bulik CM. Patterns and prevalence of disordered eating and weight control behaviors in women ages 25–45. Eat. Weight Disord. 2009;14:190-198. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03325116.
American Dietetic Association. Position of the American Dietetic Association: nutrition intervention in the treatment of eating disorders. J Am Diet Assoc. 2011;111:1236-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2011.06.016.
Sidani JE, Shensa A, Hoffman B. et al. The Association between Social Media Use and Eating Concerns among US Young Adults. J AcadNutr Diet. 2016;116:1465–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2016.03.021.
McComb SE, Gobin KC, Mills JS. The effects of self-disclaimer Instagram captions on young women’s mood and body image: The moderating effect of participants’ own photo manipulation practices. BodyImage. 2021;38:251–261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.04.011.
Perrin A, Duggan M, Rainie L, Smith A, Greenwood S, Porteus M, et al. Social media usage: 2005-2015. PewResearch Center [internet]. 2015. [Acesso 15 out 2022]. Disponível em: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2015/10/08/social-networking-usage-2005-2015/.
Perloff RM. Social media effects on young women's body image concerns: Theoretical perspectives and an agenda for research. Sex Roles. 2014;71: 363-377. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-014-0384-6.
Fardouly J and Vartanian LR. Social media and body image concerns: current research and future directions. CurrOpinPsychol. 2016;9:1–5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.09.005.
Holland G and Tiggemann M. A systematic review of the impact of the use of social networking sites on body image and disordered eating outcomes. BodyImage. 2016;17:100–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.02.008.
Mabe AG., Forney KJ & Keel, PK. Do you like my photo? Facebook use maintains eating disorder risk. Int J EatDisord. 2014;47:516–523. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22254.
Tiggemannn M, & Slater A. NetGirls: The internet, Facebook, and body image concern in adolescent girls. Int J EatDisord. 2013;46: 630–633. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22141
Chua THH & Chang L. Follow me and like my beautiful selfies: Singapore teen girls’ engagement in self-presentation and peer comparison on social media. Comput. Hum. Behav. 2016;55:190–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.09.011.
Fox J & Vendemia MA. Selective self-presentation and social comparison through photographs on social networking sites. CyberpsycholBehavSocNetw. 2016;19:593–600. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2016.0248.
Rounsefell K, Gibson Simone, McLean S, et al. Social media, body image and food choices in healthy young adults: A mixed methods systematic review. Nutr Diet. 2020;77(1):19-40. https://doi.org/10.1111/1747-0080.12581.
Holland G, Tiggemann M. A systematic review of the impact of the use of social networking sites on body image and disordered eating outcomes. BodyImage. 2016;17:100-110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.02.008.
Silva AFS, Japur CC, Penaforte FRO. Repercussões das Redes Sociais na Imagem Corporal de Seus Usuários: Revisão Integrativa. Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa. 2020;36. https://doi.org/10.1590/0102.3772e36510%20.
Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ. 2021;372: n71.
https//doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71.
Viswanathan M, Berkman ND. Development of the RTI item bank on risk of bias and precision of observational studies. J ClinEpidemiol. 2012;65(2):163–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2011.05.008.
Eckler P, Kalyango YJ, Paasch E. Facebook Use and Negative Body Image among U.S. College Women. 2016;57:249–267. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03630242.2016.1159268
Howard LM, Heron KE, MacIntyre RI, Myers TA, Everhart RS. Is use of social networking sites associated with young women’s body dissatisfaction and disordered eating? A look at Black–White racial differences. Body Image. 2017;23:109–113. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.08.008.
Smith AR, Hames JL, Joiner TE. Status Update: Maladaptive Facebook usage predicts increases in body dissatisfaction and bulimic symptoms.J. Affect. Disord. 2013;149:235–240. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2013.01.032.
Fardouly J, Willburger BK, Vartanian LR. Instagram use and young women’s body image concerns and self-objectification: Testing mediational pathways.New Media Soc. 2017;1–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444817694499.
Bue ACC. The looking glass selfie: Instagram use frequency predicts visual attention to high-anxiety body regions in young women.Comput. Hum. Behav. 2020;108:106329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106329.
Cohen R, John TN, Slater A. The relationship between Facebook and Instagram appearance-focused activities and body image concerns in young women. BodyImage. 2017;23:183–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2017.10.002.
Seekis V, Bradley GL, Duffy AL. Appearance-Related Social Networking Sites and Body Image in Young Women: Testing an Objectification-Social Comparison Model.Psychol. Women Q. 2020;44(3):377–392. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684320920826.
Fardouly J, Vartanian LR. Negative comparisons about one’s appearance mediate the relationship between Facebook usage and body image concerns. BodyImage. 2015;12:82–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.10.004.
Cohen R, John TN, Slater A. ‘Selfie’-objectification: The role of selfies in self-objectification and disordered eating in young women.Comput. Hum. Behav. 2018;79:68-74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.10.027.
Seekis V, Bradley GL, Dufy AL. How Self‐Compassion Moderates the Links Between Fitspiration Use and Body Concerns in Young Women. Mindfulness. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01656-y.
Wu Y, Harford J, Petersen J, Prichard I. “Eat clean, train mean, get lean”: Body image and health behaviours of women who engage with fitspiration and clean eating imagery on Instagram. BodyImage.2022;42:25–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.05.003.
Martinez PA, Moreno AJP, Jimenez MPM, Macías MDR, Pagliari C, Abellan MV. Social Media, Thin-Ideal, Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating Attitudes: An Exploratory Analysis. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2019;16:4177. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16214177.
Kim JW. Facebook Use for Profile Maintenance and Social Grooming and Young Korean Women’s Appearance Comparison With Peers and Body Image Concerns. Social Media + Society. 2018(1)11. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305118772835.
Piccoli, V., Carnaghi, A., Grassi, M., & Bianchi, M. The relationship between Instagram activity and female body concerns: The serial mediating role of appearance-related comparisons and internalization of beauty norms. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology. 2022;32(4):728–743. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2586
Butkowski CP, Dixon TL, Weeks K. Body Surveillance on Instagram: Examining the Role of Selfie Feedback Investment in Young Adult Women’s Body Image Concerns. Sex Roles. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0993-6.
Saunders JF, Eaton AA. Snaps, Selfies, and Shares: How Three Popular Social Media Platforms Contribute to the Sociocultural Model of Disordered Eating Among Young Women. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 2018;21(6). https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2017.0713.
Neff KD. The development and validation of a Scale to measure self-compassion. Self andIdentity. 2003;2(3):223-250. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860390209035.
Mills JS,Musto S, Williams L, Tiggemann M. “Selfie” harm: Effects on mood and body image in oung women. BodyImage. 2018;27:86–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2018.08.007.
Tiggemann M, Barbato I. “You look great!”: The effect of viewing appearance-related Instagramcomments on women’s body image. BodyImage. 2018;27:61–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2018.08.009.
Tiggemann M, Zoe Brown IA. #Loveyourbody: The effect of body positive Instagram captions onwomen’s body image. Body Image. 2020;33:129–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.02.015.
Talbot D, Mansfield H, Hayes S, Smith E. ‘She Should Not Be a Model’: The Effect of Exposure to Plus-Size Models on Body Dissatisfaction, Mood, and Facebook Commenting Behaviour. BehavChange. 2021;38:135–147. https://doi.org/10.1017/bec.2021.7.
Tiggemann M, Haydena S, Browna Z, Veldhuisba J. The effect of Instagram “likes” on women’s social comparison and body dissatisfaction. BodyImage. 2018;26:90–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2018.07.002.
Rozin P, Bauer R, Catanese D. Food and life, pleasure and worry, among American college students: gender differences and regional similarities. J PersSocPsychol. 2003;85(1):132-41. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.1.132.
Thompson JK, Heinberg LJ, Altabe MN & Tantleff-Dunn S. Exacting beauty: theory, assessment and treatment of body image disturbance. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. 1999. https://doi.org/10.1037/10312-000.
Ho SS, Lee EWJ & Liao Y. Social network sites, friends, and celebrities: The roles of social comparison and celebrity involvement in adolescents’ body image dissatisfaction.Soc. Media Soc. 2016;2(3):1–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305116664216.
Brown Z, Tiggemann M. Attractive celebrity and peer images on Instagram: Effect on women’s mood and body image. BodyImage. 2016;19:37-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.08.007.
King N, Touyz S, Charles M. The Effect of Body Dissatisfaction on Women’s Perceptions of Female Celebrities. Int J Eat Disord. 2000;27(3):341-7. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(200004)27:3<341::aid-eat12>3.0.co;2-p.
Rounds EG, Stutts LA. The Impact of Fitspiration Content on Body Satisfaction and Negative Mood: An Experimental Study. American Psychological Association. 2021;10(2):267-274. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000288.
Tiggemann M and Zaccardo M. “Exercise to be fit, not skinny”: the effect of fitspiration imagery on women’s body image. BodyImage. 2015;15: 61–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2015.06.003.
Barron AM, Krumrei-Mancuso EJ, Harriger JA. The effects of fitspiration and self-compassion Instagram posts on body image and self-compassion in men and women. BodyImage. 2021;37:14-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.01.003.
Griffiths S, Castle D, Cunningham M, Murray SB, Bastian B, Barlow FK. How does exposure to thinspiration and fitspiration relate to symptom severity among individuals with eating disorders? Evaluation of a proposed model. Body Image. 2018;27:187-195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2018.10.002.
Tiggemann M, Zinoviev K. The effect of #enhancement-free Instagram images and hashtags on women’s body image. BodyImage. 2019;31:131–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2019.09.004.
Evens O, Stutterheimb SE, Allevaa JM. Protective filtering: A qualitative study on the cognitive strategies young women use to promote positive body image in the face of beauty-ideal imagery on Instagram. Body Image. 2021;39:40–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.06.002.
Waring SV & Kelly AC. Relational body image: Preliminary evidence that body image varies within a person from one specific relationship to another. Body Image. 2020;34:221–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.06.006
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Maria Gabriela Gomes Miranda, Karyne Garcia Tafarelo Moreno, Bruna Menegassi, Liane Murari Rocha
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP RESPONSIBILITY
Title of the manuscript:
________________________________________________________
1. Statement of responsability
I certify that I have participated in the work above specified and take public responsibility for its content.
I certify that the manuscript represents an original work and that none of the material in the manuscript has been previously published, is included in another manuscript, or is currently under consideration for publication elsewhere, whether in printed form or in electronic media, except that described in the attachment.
In case of acceptance of this text by Demetra: Alimentação, Nutrição & Saude, I declare to be in accordance with the policy of public access and copyright adopted by Demetra, which provides as follows: (a) the authors retain the copyright and grant to the Journal the right of first publication, the work being simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which allows the sharing of the work with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this journal; (b) authors are authorized to enter additional contracts separately for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in this journal (eg, publishing in institutional repository or book chapter), with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this journal; and (c) authors are permitted and encouraged to post and distribute their work online (eg, in institutional repositories or on their personal page) at any point before or during the editorial process, as this may lead to productive changes, as well as increase the impact and citation of the published work.
2. Conflict of Interest Statement
I certify that there is no conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article.
Date, signature and full address of all authors.
