Social media use and risk of eating disorders in adolescent girls from a school in Lima, Peru

Background: Social media use has significantly transformed adolescents’ lifestyles, raising concerns about its impact on health and eating behaviors due to its potential association with eating disorders. Objective: To evaluate the association between social media use (SMU) and the risk of eating disorders (ED) in female adolescents from a school in Lima, Peru. Methods: An observational, analytical, and cross-sectional study was conducted in 269 high school students. The Social Media Addiction Questionnaire (ARS) was used to assess the “social media use” dimension, with a scoring range of 8–40 points, while the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) was applied to evaluate the risk of eating disorders, classifying participants with ≥20 points as “at risk”. The analysis included descriptive statistics, Student’s t-test, Pearson’s Chi-square test, and Poisson regression models with robust variance, adjusted for age and BMI-for-age categories. Results: The mean age was 14,9 ± 0,73 years, and the prevalence of ED risk was 35,7%. Adolescents at risk of ED had significantly higher SMU scores (21,24 ± 6,77) compared to those not at risk (19,36 ± 5,94; p = 0,019). Regression analysis showed that each additional point in SMU was associated with a 3% higher prevalence of ED risk (adjusted PR: 1,03; 95% CI: 1,005–1,054). Conclusions: Higher social media use was associated with an increased risk of ED in adolescent girls, independent of age and BMI-for-age. These findings underscore the need for educational strategies promoting critical social media consumption and ED prevention among adolescents.