Social Media Use and Its Influence on Eating Disorders Among High School Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Social media platforms now function as major environmental forces that determine how adolescents perceive their body image and develop eating thought patterns and eating habits. The online platforms show their body image and food content through their unrealistic body standards and food content, which creates a risk of disordered eating behavior for vulnerable youth. Yet Pakistani adolescent data remain scarce. Objective: The study aims to evaluate how social media exposure impacts eating disorder risk among high school students who are between 14 and 17 years of age in Lahore, Pakistan. The study used the EAT-26 validated screening instrument to assess the impact of social media exposure on eating disorder risk. Methods: The researchers performed a cross-sectional survey at Saint Peter's High School, which is located in Lahore. The researchers recruited 148 adolescents who consisted of 52.7% male participants and 47.3% female participants through simple random sampling. The researchers collected data through a structured questionnaire that measured demographic information, social media usage patterns, and eating behaviors, using the Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) as an additional measurement tool. The researchers calculated body mass index (BMI) through the measurement of height and weight. The researchers applied chi-square tests to investigate the relationship between social media usage and EAT-26 scores (SPSS v25.0). Results: The study sample showed that 45% of participants had eating disorder risk according to their EAT-26 scores, which reached 20 or higher. BMI profiling revealed that 42.6% were underweight and 35.1% were overweight, with only 22.3% classified as normal weight. The majority of participants (53.4%) used social media for 3–4 hours daily. Facebook (24.3%) and multiple-platform use (23.7%) were the most common platforms. Social media exposure showed a strong link to increased fast-food consumption (58.1%), mindless snacking while scrolling (66.9%), and body dissatisfaction (52.0%). The research established a statistically significant link between social media use and eating disorder risk (p=0.004). Conclusion: Social media use creates strong links to disordered eating attitudes and behaviors that affect Pakistani high school students. The education system needs three components, which include targeted digital literacy programs, regulatory action against harmful content creators, and school-based nutritional education.

Keywords: Eating disorders; social media; adolescents; body image; EAT-26; Pakistan; disordered eating; body dissatisfaction