Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Nov;18(11):e13073.
doi: 10.1111/ijpo.13073. Epub 2023 Sep 10.

Problematic social media use and overweight/obesity: explanatory pathway analysis of 124 667 in-school adolescents in 39 high-income countries

Michael Safo Oduro  1 , Daniel Katey  2 , Anthony Kwame Morgan  3 , Prince Peprah  4   5
Affiliations

Problematic social media use and overweight/obesity: explanatory pathway analysis of 124 667 in-school adolescents in 39 high-income countries

Michael Safo Oduro et al. Pediatr Obes. 2023 Nov.

Abstract

Background: The relationship between adolescent problematic social media use (PSMU) and overweight/obesity and the potential explanatory pathways for this association are unclear. This study (1) examined the relationship between PSMU and overweight/obesity and (2) evaluated potential explanatory pathways for this association.

Methods: The data used in this study came from the 2018 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey. A sample of 124 667 in-school adolescents from 39 high-income countries was analysed. Sequential logistic regressions were used to estimate the association between PSMU and overweight/obesity. Pathway analysis using a non-parametric bootstrapping technique tested the hypothesized mediating roles.

Results: The multivariable logistic regressions indicated that higher problematic social media users were 1.11 times more likely to be overweight/obese compared with those who reported low PSMU (AOR = 1.11; 95% CI = 1.05-1.18). Our bootstrapping mediation analyses showed that PSMU indirectly influenced overweight/obesity through breakfast skipping, life satisfaction, family communication, self-rated health, and physical activity, accounting for 19.8% (β = 0.0068, Boots 95% CI = 0.0056-0.0074), 15.1% (β = 0.0050, Boots 95% CI = 0.0046-0.0056), 9.2% (β = 0.0031, Boots 95% CI = 0.0024-0.0038), 7.8% (β = 0.0024, Boots 95% CI = 0.001-0.004), and 5.2% (β = 0.0017, Boots 95% CI = 0.0014-0.0023), respectively, of the total effect.

Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that used nationally representative data from multiple countries in high-income countries to examine the association between PSMU and overweight/obesity and potential explanatory pathways among school-going adolescents. This finding has important implications for public health interventions to reduce overweight/obesity rates among young people.

Keywords: PSMU; adolescents; high-income-countries; obesity; overweight; pathway analysis.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Bányai F, Zsila Á, Király O, et al. Problematic social media use: results from a large-scale nationally representative adolescent sample. PLoS One. 2017;12(1):e0169839. doi:10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0169839
    1. Monica A, Jingjing J. Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018. PublicserviceallianceOrg, 1-10. 2018 http://publicservicesalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Teens-Socia...
    1. Al-Menayes JJ. Social media use, engagement and addiction as predictors of academic performance. Int J Psychol Stud. 2015;7(4):86. doi:10.5539/ijps.v7n4p86
    1. Huang C. A meta-analysis of the problematic social media use and mental health. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2022;68(1):12-33.
    1. Kelly Y, Zilanawala A, Booker C, Sacker A. Social media use and adolescent mental health: findings from the UK millennium cohort study. EClinicalMedicine. 2018;6:59-68.

LinkOut - more resources