Relationships between high school students' social media addiction, nutritional habits and physical activity levels

With the increase in internet usage parallel to global developments, people's lifestyles and daily habits have undergone significant changes. Among the areas where this change is widely observed are eating habits and levels of physical activity. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between social media addiction, eating habits, and physical activity levels among high school students. Data were collected through a survey administered to 701 high school students and subsequently analyzed. The findings of the study revealed that physical activity levels significantly differed according to gender, with male students exhibiting higher average physical activity levels. According to the results, male students demonstrated lower levels of social media addiction and eating risk. As students progressed to higher grade levels, their eating risk levels increased significantly. Compared to other types of high schools, students attending sports high schools exhibited lower eating risk and social media addiction levels, while their physical activity levels were higher. Students who reported sleeping 8 hours or more were found to be more physically active. The findings also indicated that students classified as sufficiently active in terms of physical activity had significantly lower social media addiction and eating risk levels compared to minimally active and inactive students. Finally, a weak negative correlation was found between physical activity and social media addiction (r = -0.26, p < 0.01), as well as between physical activity and eating risk levels (r = -0.25, p < 0.01). Additionally, a weak positive correlation was observed between social media addiction and eating risk levels (r = 0.19, p < 0.01). The results of this study underscore the importance of physical activity among high school students and particularly draw attention to social media addiction and eating risk levels in female students.