Researchers call to counter unrealistic social media beauty standards to improve healthy eating

A student survey in Romania confirms a long-standing problem that social media influences eating behaviors and negative body image perceptions. Among participants, food restrictions were perceived as “natural behaviors” to reach the standards of beauty and attractiveness portrayed on social media. 

The research team calls for interventions to address these normalized harmful beauty standards that lead to food restrictions, which should emphasize effective strategies that foster positive body image and mental well-being. 

The researchers highlight that students turned to emotional eating behaviors to compensate for discomfort generated by low body esteem. 

Nutrition Insight discusses the study’s outcomes and recommendations for social media use with one of the authors, associate professor Dr. Alina Zaharia, from the Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy at Titu Maiorescu University, Bucharest, Romania. 

“I intend that this study raises an alarm signal regarding the need to develop educational programs that help children and adolescents learn to build an adequate image of their own body, without being tempted to compare themselves with the typologies promoted in the media space,” says Zaharia. 

She adds that the study signals the need to talk openly about the effects that long-term diets have (the “yo-yo effect”) to reduce the frequency of restrictive eating behaviors. In addition, she will organize open discussions with students to highlight aspects related to the normalization of harmful beauty standards. 

“Pointing out that beauty is varied, it has multiple facets. We don’t all have to be thin or fit to be valued and appreciated. Each person has a certain typology. Given their physical constitution, we cannot have unique, generally valid beauty standards.”

Fit and thin-inspiration movement

The paper, published in Frontiers in Nutrition, used an online questionnaire to collect data on socio-media pressure for a thin body image, body appreciation, body shape perception, restrained eating behavior and emotional eating behavior. The researchers selected 614 students from universities in Bucharest, Romania. 

Social media includes images and videos of thin bodies as benchmarks of ideal beauty and attractiveness. It also highlights social representations of eating behaviors and perceptions of dietary restrictions and diets. 

Food restrictions and prohibitions emerged as a way to improve body shape perception.The authors linked exposure to such body images to the internationalization of unrealistic beauty standards, resulting in a lower body appreciation. 

“Although social media representatives of the fit-inspiration and thin-inspiration movement start from the premise that they will send messages with a role in improving body shape by correcting healthy eating behavior, the effects are not as expected,” details the paper. 

Unrealistic standards

Comparing these unrealistic beauty standards with the actual image leads to dissatisfaction with people’s bodies. 

“Restrictions and food prohibitions emerge as a way to improve the perception of body shape, to diminish the level of dissatisfaction,” reads the research. 

The authors highlight statistically significant differences between women and men in almost all variables investigated. The study found that women faced higher pressure to have a body that meets social media standards and internalized beauty standards more significantly, leading to higher rates of body dissatisfaction, food restrictions and emotional eating. 

At the same time, the research team notes that the sample of young people and young adults was predominately made up of women, which may have impacted the findings. For example, the authors note that adolescent men were more satisfied with their bodies than women but that women’s body appreciation grows with age. 

The authors linked exposure to thin body images to the internationalization of unrealistic beauty standards, resulting in a lower body appreciation.Responsible social media use

Zaharia recommends social media users minimize contact with social networks and initiate more face-to-face relationships, which they value more. This will make it less likely for people to relate to beauty standards on social media. 

She also advises people to adopt a healthy lifestyle and exercise more outdoors, considering the positive effects these activities generate on mental and physical health.

Moreover, Zaharia urges that there are “no magic formulas” for a slim figure. “It is necessary to take care of their body constantly, and taking care of their own body is not associated with restrictive eating behaviors because the body feels them as punishment.”

To improve access to reliable, science-based health information on social media, WHO and TikTok embarked on a year-long partnership to address misinformation and encourage positive health dialogues. Meanwhile, a UK study found that following healthy social media accounts can inspire people to improve their fruit and vegetable consumption. 

National strategy

The authors suggest that their study can be a starting point for developing a national strategy warning against social media’s influence on beauty and attractiveness models, the quality of eating behaviors and mental and physical health. 

“It is a topic of wide interest, which needs to be treated seriously because more and more people, from all age categories, are affected by exposure to social media content,” says Zaharia. 

“If we want to counteract the negative impact of social networks, it is necessary to develop educational programs that target these aspects and teach the beneficiaries to cope with the pressure of social media.” 

Zaharia recommends developing educational programs that teach people to cope with the pressure of social media.She suggests that interventions should be both preventative — with information on healthy eating behaviors and the role of a healthy lifestyle — and corrective, focusing on improving eating behavior disorders for people who face these problems. 

Zaharia also highlights the need for interventions to reduce bullying in the school environment. “Currently, there are children and adolescents who are stigmatized because they do not have an appearance that matches the beauty standards promoted in social media.”

“Therapy groups can be useful because adolescents and young people can reveal themselves more easily. Being surrounded by people who face the same type of problems, they feel more comfortable with their own bodies or persons.”

She says these interventions should be developed and implemented by a mixed team of specialists, including psychologists, therapists, doctors and teachers.

At the same time, Zaharia highlights the benefits of involving students in developing and implementing such interventions by using their different perspectives. She suggests that it may be easier for student volunteers to create a bond with adolescents and young people due to their small age differences.