In Erzurum province, the incidence of eating disorders in secondary school students and its relationship with the use of social media

This study was conducted to determine the incidence of eating disorders in early adolescence and its relationship with the use of social media. Five hundred and five adolescents studying in Erzurum province participated in the study. General information, nutritional habits and social media usage characteristics of the adolescents were learned through a questionnaire form. EAT-26 was applied to determine the eating disorders of adolescents and SM-PACS was applied to evaluate their degree of physical appearance comparison on social media. 295 of the adolescents are girls (58.4%) and 210 are boys (41.6%) and their mean age is 12.04 ± 1.18 years. The mean EAT-26 and SM-PACS scores were found to be 14.44 ± 10.93 and 5.98 ± 8.89, respectively. Eating behaviour disorder was found in 26.7% of the adolescents. It was determined that 47.6% of adolescents use of social media for less than an hour a day. There was no significant difference between the genders in terms of duration of social media use, the mean EAT-26 and SM-PACS scores, and the rates of those with eating behavior disorder (p> 0.05). The mean EAT-26 and SM-PACS scores of those with social media accounts were found to be higher than those who did not have an account (p <0.05). The mean EAT-26 scores was found to be higher in adolescents using social media for four hours a day than adolescents using social media for one, two, three, five, six or more hours a day (p <0.05). There was no significant relationship between weekly social media usage time and EAT-26 scores (p> 0.05). The mean SM-PACS scores was found to be higher for those who always shared photos on social media than those who did not (p<0.05). The mean SM-PACS scores was found to be higher in adolescents with eating behaviour disorder than those without eating behavior disorder (p <0.05). A statistically significant, weakly positive correlation was found between EAT-26 scores and SM-PACS scores. (r = 0.301, p <0.058). As a result, it has been determined that the physical appearance comparison between self and others on social media may constitute risks for eating behaviour disorder in adolescents. Therefore, it is important to develop their social media literacy skills in order to protect the physical and mental health of adolescents. Keywords: Adolescent, appearance comparison, social media, eating disorders