Smartphone Overuse Linked to Disordered Eating Behaviors: Study
Mental Health
Excessive smartphone use and increased daily screen time are associated with higher levels of eating disorder psychopathology, according to a study in JMIR Mental Health. Affected individuals showed symptoms such as food addiction, body dissatisfaction, uncontrolled eating, and emotional overeating, highlighting a link between problematic digital habits and unhealthy eating patterns. The study was conducted by Johanna K. and fellow researchers.
This systematic review is a preregistered study that has been conducted following the guidelines of the PRISMA protocol and has incorporated studies obtained through the following databases: PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science. This systematic review has focused on studies conducted and published after January 2011 that explored the association between PSU and eating disorder psychopathology and other outcomes.
A total of 35 studies met the inclusion criteria of the systematic review, consisting of 52,584 participants who were mostly from nonclinical populations. The mean age of the participants in the studies was 17.0 ± 5.5 years, indicating a significant number of adolescents and young adults. Using the modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, the overall quality of the studies was rated as good in 28 studies (78%).
Key findings:
The majority of these studies found a positive and consistent relationship between PSU and ED psychopathology.
In all these studies, different populations and age groups from different regions showed a strong and consistent positive relationship between PSU and ED psychopathology.
Higher levels of PSU are associated with more symptoms of eating disorders. It is also noteworthy that more screen time spent using a smartphone screen each day showed a positive and consistent relationship with ED psychopathology.
In addition to ED psychopathology, PSU is also associated with a range of behavioral and psychological outcomes.
These include food addiction, body discontent, uncontrollable eating habits, and emotional eating.
The significant relationship between daily smartphone screen time and ED-related outcomes indicates that it is not only the problematic aspects of smartphone use that may be related to eating behaviors, but it is also the duration of smartphone screen time that may be related to eating behaviors. Social media, body image, and peer comparison may all be factors that contribute to body image concerns and disordered eating. Problematic smartphone use and screen time are consistently related to ED symptoms and related behaviors in nonclinical populations.
Reference:
Keeler J, Conde Ludtke L, Yang Q, Raschke Rameh V, Ward R, Treasure J, Carter B
Associations of Problematic Smartphone Use and Smartphone Screen Time With Eating Disorder Psychopathology in Non-Clinical Samples: A Systematic Review
JMIR Ment Health 2026;13:e88572
doi: 10.2196/88572
PMID: 41813322
PMCID: 12980065
