Association of Social Networking Sites Use with Actual and Ideal Body Shapes, and Eating Behaviors in Healthy Young Japanese Women

Abstract

Recent reports have associated the use of social networking sites (SNS) with the drive for thinness in young women; however, its influence on their actual body shape and eating behaviors (EB) remains unclear. We aimed to examine the effect of SNS use on body mass index (BMI), body image (BI), and EB in young women. Participants included 196 healthy women (20-29 years) who answered questions about their SNS use, height, weight, BI and EB via a web-based survey. First, the correlation between time spent on SNS and each variable was determined. Participants were then divided into quartiles according to the duration of daily SNS use as long (≥3 h, n = 52) and short (<1 h, n = 54), and the data were then compared between the groups. Correlation analysis showed that the longer the duration of daily SNS use, the significantly lower the BMI, the use of nutrition labels, and the frequency of consumption of milk and dairy products. The long group had significantly lower BMI and ideal BI than the short group. The results suggest that spending more time on SNS in young women may be associated with thinner actual and ideal body shapes and poorer access to health information and healthy foods.

Keywords: body image; body mass index; healthy eating; nutrition labeling; social media; thinness.

Figure 1

Correlations between the duration of SNS use and (a) body mass index, (b) current body image, (c) ideal body image, and (d) body dissatisfaction (all n = 196). Spearman’s correlation. Body dissatisfaction was calculated as the difference between current and ideal body image. SNS = social networking sites.