Evaluation of social media addiction and nutrition behavior of university students staying in dormitory

This study was planned to evaluate the effect of social media addiction on eating behavior and the risk of eating disorders in university students living in dormitories. 415 students (66,5% female, 33,5% male) living in the Ibn Haldun University dormitory participated in the study. Sociodemographic and health information was collected face to face through a survey form including social media and nutritional status, anthropometric measurement, Attitudes Towards Healthy Nutrition Scale (HBITS), Social Media Addiction Scale (SMDS) and Rezzy Eating Disorders Scale. Research data were evaluated using SPSS 28.0 program. While the average age of the students is 21,6±2,75 (years), the average BMI is 23,5±3,33 (kg/m2). All students use social media and spend an average of 3,22±2,40 hours on social media during the day. 79,03% of students consume food while using social media. The students' social media addiction level was found to be 'low addiction level', and their attitude towards healthy nutrition was found to be 'high level'. Female students' attitude levels towards healthy nutrition are higher than male students (p<0,05). All participants were found to have a 'low' risk of eating disorders. Female students' risk of eating disorders was found to be higher than male students (p<0,05). It has been determined that the malnutrition score decreases as the time spent on social media increases. It has been determined that thin individuals are more engaged in social media, and social media affects the emotions of overweight individuals more. It has been found that the risk of eating disorders increases as individuals' body mass indexes and the time they spend on social media increase. In conclusion, social media provides benefits for healthy eating. The quality of posts about healthy nutrition on social media should be increased and the contents of posts should be made more useful. There is a need to disseminate nutrition education on social media, improve the quality of existing education and more comprehensive studies on this subject.