ArticleBMC psychology2026
The relationship between problematic digital media use and food addiction, eating behaviours, and obesity: a cross-sectional study on Turkish university students.
Article in BMC psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Physical complaints and emotional symptoms in the context of series watching: a multicenter latent profile and network analysis in Brazil and Canada.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Digital health literacy and disordered eating among adolescents: the chain mediating roles of physical activity and problematic social media use.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
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1 author.
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Abstract
backgroundProblematic use of social media and smartphones has been increasingly linked to unhealthy lifestyle behaviors and weight-related problems. However, limited evidence exists on how these digital behaviors are associated with food addiction and obesity in young adults.
aimsThe aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between problematic digital media use and food addiction, eating behaviours, and obesity among Turkish university students.
methodA cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2024 and March 2025 with 331 students. Participants completed validated instruments, including the Social Media Addiction Scale-Adult Form, the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Form, the Modified Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0, and the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire-Short Form (EDE-Q13). Anthropometric measurements were used to calculate body mass index (BMI).
resultsThe mean age of the participants was 20.49 ± 3.88 years, and 81% were female. Problematic smartphone use was significantly higher among students with moderate food addiction compared to those without food addiction (p < 0.001). Severe food addic-tion was associated with higher prevalence of eating disorders (p < 0.001) and higher BMI values (p < 0.001). Weak but significant correlations were found between problematic so-cial media use and binge eating (r = 0.133, p = 0.015) as well as purging behaviors (r = 0.190, p = 0.001). Similar associations emerged between problematic smartphone use and binge eating (r = 0.136, p = 0.013).
conclusionsFindings indicate that problematic social media and smartphone use are associated with food addiction, eating disorders, and higher BMI among young adults. Nevertheless, these results highlight the need for preventive strategies addressing digital media use in the context of eating behaviors and obesity risk.
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