Abstract
Background
Social media have become one of the primary sources of nutrition-related information among young adults; however, the widespread promotion of restrictive diets may contribute to unhealthy eating behaviors and body image concerns. The aim of this study was to examine the association between exposure to restrictive diet-related content on social media and eating-behavior dimensions measured using the TFEQ-13 among women aged 18–49 years in Poland. Additionally, the study descriptively assessed participants’ restrictive dietary practices and their self-reported perceptions regarding the influence of social media on dietary decisions, self-esteem, and body image.
Methods
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 370 women using an original questionnaire and the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-13). The questionnaire assessed exposure to diet-related content, restrictive dietary practices, sources of nutrition information, body image, and eating-related behaviors.
Results
Most respondents reported exposure to diet-related social media content several times daily (70.8%), with Instagram and TikTok representing the primary information sources. Nearly half of the participants had followed a diet promoted on social media, most commonly involving sugar elimination or intermittent fasting. Rapid weight loss was the leading motivation for adopting restrictive diets. Although physicians and dietitians were perceived as the most trusted sources of nutrition information, participants frequently reported perceiving social media content as relevant to their dietary decisions, body image, and eating-related attitudes. Self-reported body dissatisfaction, guilt after eating foods perceived as unhealthy, and restrictive or compensatory eating practices were common in the sample. In inferential analyses, greater exposure to restrictive diet-related social media content was positively associated with cognitive restraint and uncontrolled eating after adjustment for age, educational level, place of residence, and previous experience with restrictive diets promoted on social media, whereas the adjusted association with emotional eating was not statistically significant.
Conclusion
Frequent exposure to restrictive diet-related social media content was associated with higher cognitive restraint and, to a lesser extent, uncontrolled eating. Body dissatisfaction, restrictive dietary practices, and potentially maladaptive eating-related attitudes were also frequently reported but were assessed descriptively and should not be interpreted as outcomes statistically associated with social media exposure. Given the cross-sectional design, the observed associations do not establish causality.