How Social Media Affects Body Image and Eating Behavior

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In 2023, approximately 60 percent of the world’s population was using social media. Social media can be used for beneficial purposes, such as keeping in touch with family and friends. However, social media can also be harmful.

In particular, there is mounting evidence that paints a fairly consistent picture: Higher levels of exposure to appearance-related content on social media (e.g., beauty influencers, “fitspiration”) is associated with, and can cause, a more negative body image.

Given the popularity of social media around the globe and the established link between appearance-related content and negative body image, researchers at Flinders University in Australia wanted to investigate the relationship between eating-related content, body image, and eating behaviour (Wu, Kemps, & Prichard, 2024).

The Research Methodology

To do so, the researchers conducted an extensive search of the evidence base for studies about eating-related content on social media, body image, and eating behaviour. They screened more than 5,000 identified records to determine whether these met their inclusion criteria for the analyses (e.g., the studies needed to have a measure of exposure to eating-related content on social media, body image, and/or eating behaviour).

From these records, the researchers identified 38 studies that met their inclusion criteria. They systematically extracted the data from these studies and summarised the overall findings according to three categories. Key findings from two of these categories are described below (see the full research article for their data concerning viewers’ opinions about eating-related content).

Category 1: Eating-Related Content and Body Image

With only a few exceptions, the studies that investigated the relationship between eating-related content and body image showed that exposure to eating-related content on social media was associated with a more negative body image.

For example, following social media influencers who share dieting and nutrition advice, and higher levels of exposure to “clean eating” on social media, were related to higher levels of negative body image. Clean eating is a “style of eating that promotes consumption of whole and unprocessed foods” (Wu et al., 2024).

Category 2: Eating-Related Content and Eating Behaviour

Similarly, with only a few exceptions, the studies that investigated the relationship between eating-related content and eating behaviour showed that exposure to eating-related content on social media was associated with higher levels of eating disorder symptoms.

For example, viewing clean eating imagery and eating broadcasts on social media was related to higher levels of eating disorder symptoms; viewing Instagram feeds featuring “low-energy-density” foods (e.g., fruits and vegetables) led to increased intentions to engage in disordered eating.

Relatedly, the overall evidence showed that eating-related content on social media was associated with higher consumption of (or intention to consume) the foods that were depicted on social media.

For example, viewing images of snack foods with low nutrition density (e.g., cakes, chips) led to increased intake or willingness to consume those foods, and exposure to Facebook postings related to fruit and vegetable intake led to increased fruit and vegetable consumption.

The Key Take-Home Messages

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Overall, there is a link between various types of eating-related content on social media and respectively a more negative body image and higher levels of disordered eating. Interestingly, some types of content—such as clean eating and nutrition advice—are supposedly intended to promote healthier eating and well-being.

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The negative effects of these types of content may be explained by the fact that influencers who share health and nutrition advice on social media tend to be poorly qualified (e.g., see Lynn et al., 2020). Further, many of these influencers also depict bodily ideals (e.g., being very thin and lean), which may enhance some of the mechanisms that are known to cause negative body image and disordered eating (e.g., appearance-based social comparisons).

The evidence also suggests that whatever foods we are exposed to online may contribute to higher consumption of (or intention to consume) those particular foods. This holds for foods like sweets and fried foods, but also fruits and vegetables.

For both categories of studies (i.e., effects of eating-related content on body image and eating behaviour), the authors stressed that more experiments are needed to determine causality and the direction of these effects. For example, it could be that people with higher levels of eating disorder symptoms actively seek out content that could reinforce disordered eating (e.g., clean eating, dieting advice).

There are surprisingly few studies that have experimentally investigated the effects of eating-related content on body image and eating behaviour, and, hopefully, more research will continue to be conducted in the future.

For now, it is wise to be mindful of the type of eating-related content we see and seek out online and to be skeptical about whether this content is helpful. This is especially important considering that social media algorithms may lead to repeated and increased exposure to the same types of content, which may only enhance its effects over time.