TikTok use could put women at higher risk of eating disorders: study

Exposure to certain videos on TikTok could put women at a higher risk of developing eating disorders, a study has suggested.

Researchers warned there must be “effective controls” put in place on the platform to stop what they describe as “pro-anorexia” content circulating, or risk users experiencing “detrimental consequences”.

For the study, some 273 female TikTok users aged 18 to 28 were given questionnaires that measured disordered eating behaviour, such as binge-eating and self-induced vomiting, as well as body satisfaction and internalisation of societal beauty standards.

The majority were from Australia, with 71 per cent reporting that they spent up to two hours a day on TikTok.

Of the group, 126 were shown TikTok videos about disordered eating, such as young women restricting food intake and sharing weight loss tips, as well as videos of slim women showing off cinched waists and content about working out and juice cleanses.

The remainder of the group were shown videos about nature, cooking, comedy and animals.

After watching seven to eight minutes of TikToks, the two groups were then asked to fill out the surveys on body image and beauty standards again.

The study, published in the journal Plos One, found that pro-anorexia content “significantly decreased” the first group’s body image satisfaction and increased their internalisation of appearance ideals.

Researchers said: “Our findings indicate that female-identifying TikTok users may experience psychological harm even when explicit pro-anorexia content is not sought out and even when their TikTok use is time-limited in nature.”

The team also called for stricter controls on pro-eating disorder content being posted on the platform.

They added: “The findings of this study