September 11, 2023
2 min read
Source/Disclosures
Disclosures:
Nagata reports receiving funding from the NIH, American Heart Association, and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. All other authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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Key takeaways:
- Adolescents who face or perpetuate cyberbullying are more likely to worry over weight gain or binge eat.
- The odds of such outcomes were highest among perpetrators of cyberbullying.
Both victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying are more likely than other youths to experience eating disorder symptoms, according to study findings published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.
Recent studies have shown that eating disorder admissions increased among children in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that an “incredibly high” proportion of U.S. children continue to show such behaviors.
“Classic forms of bullying are risk factors for the development of eating disorders. However, little is known about modern forms of bullying, such as cyberbullying, and risk for eating disorders,” Jason M. Nagata, MD, MSc, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, told Healio.
“Cyberbullying introduces distinctive elements, such as the ability to remain anonymous or employ fake profiles,” Nagata said. “This digital form of bullying often takes place within the realm of social media, where discussions often revolve around body image.”
Nagata and colleagues studied responses from 10,258 adolescents in the U.S. aged 10 to 14 years who answered questions about whether they had experienced cyberbullying — as a victim or perpetrator — and whether they had experienced eating disorder symptoms.
According to the responses, being a victim of cyberbullying more than doubled someone’s odds of worrying about weight gain (prevalence ratio [PR] = 2.41; 95% CI, 1.48-3.91) and was also associated with self-worth tied to weight (PR = 2.08; 95% CI 1.33–3.26), inappropriate compensatory behavior to prevent weight gain (PR = 1.95; 95% CI 1.57–2.42), binge eating (PR = 1.95, 95% CI 1.59–2.39) and distress with binge eating (PR = 2.64, 95% CI 1.94–3.59).
Being a perpetrator of cyberbullying was associated with even higher odds of worry about weight gain (PR 3.52, 95% CI 1.19–10.37), self-worth being tied to weight (PR 5.59, 95% CI 2.56–12.20), binge eating (PR 2.36, 95% CI 1.44–3.87) and distress with binge eating (PR 2.84, 95% CI 1.47–5.49).
The researchers noted that, because the data they analyzed were cross-sectional, they were unable to establish causality. However, they argued that the findings “have significant implications for public policy, public health, and clinical practice, especially with regards to informing strategies for cyberbullying and eating disorder prevention and intervention in the early adolescent population.”
Nagata said future research could examine how specific appearance-related cyberbullying content might impact the development of eating disorders, and that “digital media literacy education could include guidance on how to navigate negative, appearance-related comments.”
“Parents should advise their children to avoid cyberbullying and encourage them to report online harassment if it occurs,” Nagata said in a press release.
“Eating disorders can affect people of all genders, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, ages and sizes,” he told Healio. “You cannot tell that someone has an eating disorder based on appearance alone.”
References:
Does cyberbullying affect adolescents’ risk of developing eating disorders? https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1000243. Published Sept. 6, 2023. Accessed Sept. 8, 2023.
Nagata JM, et al. Int J Eat Disord. 2023;doi:10.1002/eat.24034.
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