1Volume 12- Issue 72
/ December 2023
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http:// www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
DOI: https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2023.72.12.12
How to Cite:
Shirokova, O., Zhylin, M., Kantarova, N., Chumaieva, Y., & Onipko, Z. (2023). The influence of the media on the body perception
and the risk of developing eating disorders in youth. Amazonia Investiga, 12(72), 135-144.
https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2023.72.12.12
The influence of the media on the body perception and the risk of
developing eating disorders in youth
Вплив медіа на формування сприйняття тіла та ризику розвитку розладів харчової
поведінки у молоді
Received: November 8, 2023 Accepted: December 28, 2023
Written by:
Olena Shirokova1
https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9037-9217
Mykhailo Zhylin2
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2898-4403
Nataliia Kantarova3
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4817-2277
Yuliia Chumaieva4
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6145-9585
Zoriana Onipko5
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9731-4847
Abstract
The standards of appearance created by media
resources incite the excessive desire of young
people to conform to patterns incompatible with
reality. Determining the influence of media on body
perception will contribute to reducing the risk of
eating disorders in young people. The aim is to
identify the impact of media on young people's
perception of their bodies and their risk of
developing eating disorders. The following
empirical methods were employed: SATAQ-3,
BAQ, EDI, ASI-R. Statistical methods: ANOVA,
descriptive statistics, regression analysis. Media
influence young people's attitudes to their body and
pose a risk of developing eating disorders.
Information impairs the attitude towards one's own
appearance (p≤0.01) and provokes the risk of eating
disorders (p≤0.01). Media pressure in 72%
determines the risk of developing eating disorders
(R=0.642), has the greatest influence on drive for
1
Postgraduate Student, Department of Practical and Clinical Psychology, Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University, Odesa, Ukraine.
WoS Researcher ID: JLL-2016-2023
2
Senior Lecturer, Department of Practical Psychology, Educational and Scientific Maritime Institute of Humanities, Odessa National
Maritime University, Odesa, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: ISS-8172-2023
3
Candidate of Psychological Sciences, Associate Professor, Department of Practical and Clinical Psychology, Odesa I. I. Mechnikov
National University, Odesa, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: JMC-7928-2023
4
Candidate of Psychological Sciences, Senior Research Officer, Associate Professor, Acting Head of the Department of “Practical
Psychology”, Educational and Scientific Maritime Humanities Institute, Odessa National Maritime University, Odesa, Ukraine.
WoS Researcher ID: ACX-3978-2022
5
Candidate of Political Sciences, Lecturer, Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, Faculty of Sociology and Law, National
Technical University of Ukraine “Ihor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”, Kyiv, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: ACR-6916-2022
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thinness (β=0.620±0.319) and body dissatisfaction
(β=0.557±0.235). The results of the study indicate
the need to develop educational and preventive
measures to eliminate the negative impact of mass
media on body perception by young people and
reduce the risk of eating disorders.
Keywords: Media, body perception, eating
disorders, young people, prevention.
Introduction
Rapid informational progress in society makes
media tools widely distributed among the
population. The term "media" refers to the
communication channels through which certain
information is transferred: news, music, movies,
advertising, etc. (Carpentier, 2013). The term
"media" refers to everything that makes it
possible to receive certain information: print and
online newspapers, magazines, television, radio,
billboards, telephone, Internet, social networks,
and messengers (Khalaf et al., 2023). Media tools
are created to inform people about events and
phenomena, but this information is not always
positive. In many cases, the media has a
destructive effect on the personality and human
body (Nghaimesh, 2023).
In recent decades, the media space has widely
covered fashion trends in body shape, facial
appearance, makeup, and even plastic surgery
(Ohannessian et al., 2014). Very often, mass
media present thin women and excessively
muscular men (actors, models, artists). But
people with excess weight are almost not
represented at all. This position promotes the
formation of an attitude that thinness is the
standard of beauty, and excess weight is
shameful and unacceptable. This shapes an
attitude to follow such trends and accept
everything that is shown in the media space
(Frieiro Padín et al., 2021). The creation of
artificial standards of beauty that do not
correspond to reality leads to a distorted
perception by people, especially youth, of their
bodies (Sanzari et al., 2023). Young people begin
to develop eating disorders in the constant search
for the "ideal body" (Uchôa et al., 2019). Such
disorders are characterized by increased
psychopathology, serious physical health
problems, impaired psychosocial functioning,
and reduced quality of life (Williams et al.,
2018).
According to the American Psychiatric
Association, eating disorders consistently affect
several million people, most often women aged
between 12 and 35. These can be very serious
conditions affecting physical, psychological, and
social functions (American Psychiatric
Association, (s.f)). The National Eating
Disorders Association (NEDA, (s.f)) states that
eating disorders are often misunderstood by
people, so in most cases they do not receive
timely help.
Therefore, it is important to identify the role
played by the media in young people's perception
of themselves and their bodies, to understand the
steps that can be taken to reduce their harmful
influence. This will allow detection of eating
disorders before they lead to pathological
conditions.
The aim of the research is to study the extent of
influence of media on the body perception of
young people and their risk of developing eating
disorders. The following hypothesis was
advanced on the basis of the determined aim:
media influence the attitude towards the body
and the emergence of eating disorders in young
people, in particular, social networks exert the
greatest influence. The aim and hypothesis
involved the fulfilment of the following research
objectives:
1) identify the peculiarities of the attitude
towards one's body among young people;
2) establish the presence of eating disorders
among young people;
3) determine the extent of conscious bodily
appearance of young people;
4) prove the impact of media on body
perception and development of eating
behaviour among young people.
In the section "Literature Review" the essence of
the concept of "media" is presented, its structure
and features of the influence of the individual's
attitude towards his body are defined.
Categorization of eating disorders arising under
the influence of the media has been carried out.
In the "Methods" section, the research procedure
Shirokova, O., Zhylin, M., Kantarova, N., Chumaieva, Y., Onipko, Z. / Volume 12 - Issue 72: 135-144 / December, 2023
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is presented, the sample population is described,
the methods of diagnosis and data analysis are
substantiated, and the ethical criteria of the
research are given. The "Results" section
contains the main results of the study of the
evaluation of one's own appearance and body
awareness in young people, the presence of
eating disorders. In the "Discussion" section, a
description of the obtained indicators of young
people's attitude towards their own body is
presented, an analysis of the impact of the media
on the attitude towards the body and the risk of
eating disorders among young people is carried
out. The results were compared with other
studies. The "Conclusions" section includes the
main provisions of the conducted research and
describes limitations and prospects for further
research.
Literature review
In the modern world, life is impossible without
mass media. They serve as a virtual mediator
between the society and a person as an end user.
However, excessive information flow and low
filtering of appropriateness of information can
have a destructive effect on personality
development. This is especially relevant at a
young age, when people are actively forming
their worldview and personal-oriented position.
Youth is an active driving force of society, which
ensures quality transformation of society.
Therefore, the ideals that young people learn are
essentially the ideals of sustainable development
(Ohannessian et al., 2014). At the same time,
young people actively use the media for their
professional or personal needs, form their
normative beliefs based on the received
information.
Nowadays, one of the main topics in the media is
the human body, beauty, standards of body
shapes, stereotypes of behaviour. Accordingly,
young people actively seek to follow the
presented standards. This leads to the devaluing
of one's self and the depersonalization of one's
body appearance (Ramos et al., 2019). The
influence on the perception of one's body
appearance can have two vectors. The first one is
aimed at simple communication of certain facts
of human body appearance — the process of
informing. The second vector is the purposeful
influence and imposition of specific standards on
the human body — a pressure (McCabe et al.,
2007).
The rapid spread of social media use increases
the frequency, duration, and variety of resources
that young people use in their daily lives.
Identifying potentially harmful aspects of media
use can contribute to the prevention of negative
consequences of media abuse and its destructive
impact on personality (Sanzari et al., 2023). The
study suggests that current television and Internet
trends are sources of unrealistic and
inappropriate ideal images that are difficult to
follow (Voelker et al., 2015).
The main postulates of the media regarding body
appearance are the ideal body shape. Created
artificial stereotype of a beautiful thin body
encourages young people to achieve the same
standard (Elran-Barak et al., 2020). Therefore,
many young people resort to exhausting diets,
food restrictions, or overeating, exhaustion from
excessive physical load. At the same time, this
behaviour is characteristic of both men and
women (Rohde et al., 2023).
This influence results in numerous eating
disorders. Eating disorders are a mental condition
in which excessive control over eating is used to
cope with negative feelings or to achieve a
desired appearance (Kumar, 2023). Eating
disorders are atypical eating habits that include
skipping meals, restrictive diets or compulsive
overeating, anorexia nervosa, or bulimia nervosa
(Taylor et al., 2018). However, each type of
emerging eating disorder still remains poorly
understood (Whitelaw et al., 2018). Most of the
emerging disorders are related to each other,
mixed, or result from additional influences
(Omeljaniuk et al., 2021).
At first glance, striving for an ideal is a positive
stimulus for self-development. But when the
changes are excessive and inconsistent with
personal development, and the ideal is
unattainable, changes occur at the mental level
(Perrin et al., 2023). Such people find themselves
on the edge of an internal contradiction: between
who they are and the impossibility of becoming
what they want (López-Gil et al., 2023). This
contradiction provokes a nervous state in which
a person seeks to change his body by physical
means. Eating disorders are quite serious and in
some cases fatal diseases (Zam et al., 2018).
According to the London Centre for Eating
Disorders and Body (2022), almost 10,000 young
people began treatment for eating disorders
between April and December 2021, which is
significantly more than in previous years.
A prerequisite for the emergence of eating
disorders may be a body attitude (Schaefer et al.,
2019). Body attitude is a subjective attitude
towards one's body and satisfaction with it (Bulik
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et al., 2019). This concept is essentially an
internalization of external standards of beauty
and appearance (Nagata et al., 2020). In other
words, the body attitude is influenced by external
information about body standards. On this basis,
the individual compares his body with the
standard of beauty prevailing in society. If the
body does not meet the standard and the
individual has certain psychological problems at
the same time, this results in eating disorders
aimed at achieving the ideal (Harrison et al.,
2022). With age, the attitude towards the body
can change, as the ability to self-understand
decreases against the background of a negative
attitude towards one's own body (Bellard et al.,
2022). Accordingly, the more the standard of
body and beauty is promoted in the media, the
more people are able to perceive it as their own
ideal. The integrity of the self-image is violated,
the internal state and external needs are separated
in achieving such an ideal. Eating disorders arise
against this background.
Problems with the body attitude and eating
disorders manifest themselves most in the period
of youth. According to researchers, youth may
feel inferior by comparing themselves to an ideal,
leading to body image issues and lower self-
confidence (Frank et al., 2018). Such problems
lead to potentially dangerous eating disorders,
including the most widespread — anorexia and
bulimia (Morris & Anderson, 2021).
All of the foregoing requires empirical
confirmation, as negative body attitudes and
eating disorders are dangerous to health and can
lead to death.
Methods
Research design
The study lasted 4 months between May 2023
and September 2023. During this time, the
necessary amount of information was collected
to achieve the aim of the research and confirm the
hypothesis. The study involved 4 stages. The first
stage provided for the methodological
development of the research programme,
selection of diagnostic methods, development of
diagnostic forms. The second stage involved
testing respondents according to the selected
methods. The third stage included processing the
research results, presenting them graphically and
statistically. The fourth stage provided for a
qualitative data analysis, a description of the
obtained results, and their practical significance.
Sampling
The study involved 210 people aged 25 to 44
(according to the WHO classification): 74 male
and 136 female. The research was conducted at
Odesa National Maritime University and Odesa
I. I. Mechnikov National University. The
inclusion criterion was the age limits established
by the study. All subjects are employees of the
specified universities. Respondents with existing
health problems that could affect the reliability of
the results were excluded.
Methods
The research employed methods that correspond
to the set aim and advanced hypothesis.
The Appearance Schemas Inventory Revised,
ASI-R method. This questionnaire has two
scales: a self-evaluative salience and a
motivational salience scale. The self-evaluative
salience scale measures the influence of self-
evaluative salience on the evaluation of others.
The motivational salience scale measures
motivation to change (improve) one's
appearance. This technique determines young
people's attitude to their appearance.
Eating Disorder Inventory, EDI. The
questionnaire identifies eating disorders,
primarily anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa.
The first version of the questionnaire was
developed in 1983 by D.M. Garner,
M.P. Olmstead, J.P. Polivy. The technique
consists of 7 subscales: drive for thinness,
bulimia, body dissatisfaction, ineffectiveness,
perfectionism, interpersonal insecurity,
interoceptive deficits.
Body Awareness Questionnaire, BAQ. Test
authors Shields, Mallory and Simon, translated
by Maria Heinz. The test consists of 18
questions, the answers to which are distributed
on a 7-point scale, assessing the degree of
relevance of a particular statement to oneself.
The overall score of the test indicates the level of
body awareness.
The Sociocultural Attitudes Towards
Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ-3) was used
to identify the influence of the media on attitudes
towards one's own body in young people. In the
first version of the SATAQ, the main provision
was the recognition of the existence of two
aspects of the perception of social standards
regarding body appearance: "awareness" and
"internalization". In the updated version of the
SATAQ-3, the authors supplemented the
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questionnaire with additional scales of the social
influence of mass media on beliefs, evaluations
and attitudes about human corporeality:
"information" and "pressure". The last two scales
were used in this study : information and pressure
to show how the media influence the body
attitudes of young people.
Statistical Methods
Descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA,
Pearson correlation coefficient, and linear
regression analysis were used in the study.
Ethical Criteria of Research
Before conducting the research, all respondents
were informed about the purpose of the research
and its confidentiality. The consent was obtained
for diagnostics and non-disclosure of data.
Results
As a result of our research, the degree of
assessment of one's own appearance and body
awareness among young people has been
established (Table 1).
Table 1.
Indicators of assessment of one's own appearance and body awareness of young people
Scale
Mean
SD
Dispersion (σ)
self-evaluative salience
40.67
6.84
46.78
motivational salience
25.55
6.23
38.85
Appearance Schemas Inventory
63.58
9.84
96.91
Body Awareness
72.08
23.57
555.75
Source: (own data)
The obtained data indicate that young people
have a high self-evaluative appearance and an
average motivation to change their appearance.
The integral indicator of the evaluation of one's
own appearance is above average, which
indicates a positive assessment by young people
of their body appearance. For them, satisfaction
with the features of their own appearance, as well
as its evaluation by the surrounding people, is
inherent to them, which leads to the desire to
improve the parameters of their visual image in
various ways, taking into account certain social
ideas and cultural standards. The study of eating
disorders showed that certain signs of disorders
were found in the subjects (Table 2).
Table 2.
Indicators of eating disorders in young people
Scale
Mean
SD
Dispersion (σ)
Drive for thinness
14.82
4.49
13.18
Bulimia
4.66
1.55
5.48
Body dissatisfaction
17.60
5.32
15.39
Ineffectiveness
13.14
4.31
14.34
Perfectionism
9.03
3.63
9.94
Interpersonal insecurity
7.25
2.64
8.99
Interoceptive deficits
12.26
6.57
13.59
Source: (own data)
According to the table, young people have a high
drive for thinness, low bulimia, high body
dissatisfaction, ineffectiveness, medium
perfectionism, medium partial interpersonal
insecurity, and high interoceptive deficits. Such
indicators reflect problems in the eating
behaviour of young people, which are mainly
characterized by dissatisfaction with their
appearance and their body and the desire to have
a thin body. Failure to achieve the desired
standard can lead to nervous disorders in the
future, which can manifest as anorexia or
bulimia.
Determining the influence of the media on the
young people's attitudes showed that the mass
media exert pressure on young people (Table 3).
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Table 3.
Indicators of mass media influence on youth
Scales
Mean
SD
Dispersion (σ)
Information
16.48
5.26
27.67
Pressures
29.52
7.02
49.26
Source: (own data)
It was found that the media exerts medium
information on young people (and high pressure
on them). Today, the socialization of young
people is impossible without the use of media
tools, especially the Internet and social networks.
However, excessive media pressure can form
distorted stereotypes of appearance and body in
young people that do not correspond to reality,
resulting in eating disorders. Ignoring them leads
to consequences, which are characterized by
severe neuropsychological disorders.
A correlational analysis was conducted to
identify the relationship between media
influence, body attitudes and eating disorders
(Table 4).
Table 4.
Correlation between attitudes towards one's own appearance and the influence of the media
Source: (own data)
According to the obtained data, an inverse
relationship was found between Information and
self-evaluative salience scale (r=-0.708, p≤0.01),
an integral indicator of attitude towards
appearance (r=-0.546, p≤0.01), body awareness
(r=-0.696, p≤0.01). These correlations indicate
that the greater the informational influence
exerted by the media, the lower young people
rate their body appearance. Comparing one's own
body with the standard offered by the media
lowers self-esteem, self-confidence, and creates
dissatisfaction with oneself. Such young people
begin to look for ways to change themselves, to
correct their bodies according to social standards,
which causes eating disorders.
An inverse correlation was established between
media pressure and the scale self-evaluative
salience (r=-0.654, p≤0.01), motivational
salience (r=-0.216, p≤0.05), an integral indicator
of attitude to one's own appearance (r=-0.486,
p≤0.01), body awareness (r=-0.587, p≤0.01). So,
when the pressure from the media increases, the
positive attitude towards oneself and one's
appearance decreases among young people. Such
individuals begin to assimilate values imposed
from the outside. At the same time, their negative
self-attitude towards their body appearance and
appearance provokes eating disorders, which are
most often found among people who are
dissatisfied with their physique.
A direct relationship between informing the
media and the development of drive for thinness
(r=0.326, p≤0.01), bulimia (r=0.282, p≤0.01),
body dissatisfaction (r=0.271, p≤0, 01),
perfectionism (r=0.353, p≤0.01), interoceptive
deficits (r=0.318, p≤0.01). Based on the obtained
correlations, it can be asserted that the more
aware young people are about their body and
appearance, the more they are dissatisfied with
their appearance and have signs of eating
disorders.
Indicators of attitude towards one's own
appearance
Information
Pressures
r
p
r
p
self-evaluative salience
-0.708**
0.000
-0.654**
0.000
motivational salience
-.086
-.052
-0.216*
0.042
Appearance Schemas Inventory
-0.546**
0.000
-0.486**
0.000
Body Awareness
-0.696**
0.000
-0.587**
0.000
Eating disorders
Information
Pressures
r
p
r
p
Drive for thinness
0.326**
0.000
0.482**
0.000
Bulimia
0.282**
0.000
0.223
0.740
Body dissatisfaction
0.271**
0.000
0.206**
0.000
Ineffectiveness
0.212
0.357
0.273**
0.000
Perfectionism
0.353**
0.000
0.490**
0.000
Interpersonal insecurity
0.196
0.342
0.378**
0.000
Interoceptive deficits
0.318**
0.000
0.282
0.112
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Media pressure has a direct impact on the drive
for thinness (r=0.482, p≤0.01), body
dissatisfaction (r=0.206, p≤0.01), inefficiency
(r=0.273, p≤0.01), perfectionism ( r=0.490,
p≤0.01), interpersonal insecurity (r=0.378,
p≤0.01). The constant imposition of stereotypes
and ideals of appearance by the media leads to an
increase in eating disorders. Mostly, these are
disorders of dissatisfaction with the body and the
desire to lose weight in order to meet expected
standards. At the same time, perfectionism is
expressed as a desire to achieve the desired ideal.
This disturbs the internal balance of the
individual and his/her interpersonal
communication.
A linear regression analysis was conducted In
order to determine the model of influence of
media on body attitudes and the risk of eating
disorders in young people (Table 5).
Table 5.
Regression analysis of media influence on body attitudes and risk of eating disorders in youth
Scale
β
SD
t
p-value
R
R²
Information
Self-evaluative salience
-0.349
0.044
-70.959
0.000
-0.775
0.617
Motivational salience
0.032
0.038
0.862
0.390
Appearance Schemas Inventory
-0.091
0.013
-70.155
0.000
Body awareness
-0.349
0.044
-70.959
0.000
Drive for thinness
0.403
0.235
10.719
0.087
0.684
0.548
Bulimia
-0.067
0.238
-0.280
0.780
Body dissatisfaction
-0.189
0.275
-0.687
0.493
Ineffectiveness
0.259
0.281
0.922
0.358
Perfectionism
0.408
0.253
10.612
0.108
Interpersonal insecurity
-0.209
0.293
-0.715
0.475
Pressure
Self-evaluative salience
-0.489
0.067
-70.316
0.000
-0.693
0.480
Motivational salience
0.066
0.057
10.149
0.252
Appearance Schemas Inventory
-0.087
0.019
-40.481
0.000
Drive for thinness
0.114
00.08
20.113
00.656
Bulimia
0.620
0.319
10.944
0.053
0.642
0.717
Body Dissatisfaction
-0.251
0.324
-0.776
0.439
Ineffectiveness
0.557
0.373
-10.493
0.137
Perfectionism
0.380
0.382
0.995
0.321
Interpersonal insecurity
0.297
0.344
0.865
0.388
Interoceptive deficits
0.084
0.398
0.211
0.833
Drive for thinness
0.367
0.319
10.152
0.251
Regression analysis showed that the media has an
influence on body attitudes and eating disorders
in young people. It was found that media has a
62% influence on attitudes towards the body and
appearance (R=-0.775), in particular, it has the
greatest impact on body awareness
(β=0.349±0.04). Such data indicate that
information about ideals of appearance forms a
stereotype among young people, which requires
them to conform to such ideals. It was also found
that information by 55% determines the risk of
developing eating disorders (R=0.684), the most
perfectionism (β=0.408±0.235) and drive for
thinness (β=0.403±0.253).
In 48% of cases, media pressure leads to a
decreased self-esteem towards one's appearance
and perceived body appearance (R=-0.693), in
particular, the greatest impact was found on self-
esteem of appearance (β=-0.489±0.067). Also,
media pressure determines the risk of developing
eating disorders by 72% (R=0.642), has the
greatest impact on drive for thinness
(β=0.620±0.319), and body
dissatisfaction (β=0.557±0.235).
Therefore, the results of the study confirmed the
influence of media on body attitudes and the risk
of developing eating disorders in young people.
Discussion
The study found that modern media have a
negative impact on young people's attitude to
their bodies and appearance and cause the risk of
developing eating disorders. Inverse relationship
between the effect of media and attitude to one's
body appearance and direct relationship with
eating disorders were found. This suggests that
the information received from the mass media
about the ideals of beauty and the body distorts
the self-perception of young people and forms
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unattainable standards of beauty. Striving to
achieve a set ideal lowers the self-esteem of
young people, their level of harassment, disrupts
the perception of their body, and lowers
satisfaction with themselves and their
appearance. As a result, young people begin to
look for ways to change their bodies and achieve
the standards of beauty dictated by the media. In
the search for an ideal, there is a risk of
developing eating disorders. In particular, as it
turned out, the most frequent are the drive for
thinness, perfectionism, dissatisfaction with the
body. And the stronger the influence of the
media, the more young people strive to achieve
body beauty standards imposed on them.
Similar results have been obtained in many other
studies, which established that the perception of
body image is shaped by unrealistic ideals
presented in the mass media. At the same time,
body dissatisfaction is a risk factor for eating
disorders, low self-esteem, depression, and
obesity (Sharma et al., 2019).
The results of a similar study were presented in
more detail by McCabe et al. (2007). They also
found that the media affects body attitudes, but
more extensively showed that this influence is
equally strong both for men, and women. At the
same time, another study proved the opposite of
such statements, where it was found that the
overall incidence of eating disorders among
women is significantly higher than among men
(Williams et al., 2018). Therefore, identifying the
gender aspect of attitudes towards body and
eating disorders requires additional research.
Uchoa et al. proved that the influence of the
media is a predictor of the development of eating
disorders and dissatisfaction with one's body.
Through media information flows, the media can
encourage young people to adopt patterns of
physical beauty, which in case of non-
compliance with such standards leads to
dissatisfaction with their own bodies (Uchôa et
al., 2019). The recent study found that social
media platform use has a negative impact on
body image among adolescents and young adults
(Nghaimesh, 2023). It is social networks, as the
main channel for obtaining information, that
form a stereotypical attitude to their body and
appearance in young people.
Mazurkiewicz et al. (2021) did not find a
relationship between body shape parameters and
feelings of stigma, even when subjective body
evaluation acted as a moderator. At the same
time, body weight was a strong predictor of
levels of perceived stigma. Obese women
experienced higher levels of stigma than other
groups. So, the standards of female beauty
imposed in the media with a thin body and a
beautiful face encourage a feeling of inferiority
of overweight women.
Frieiro Padín et al. (2021) proved that the media
only increase awareness of social norms in a
particular country and cultural environment.
Therefore, the attitude to body appearance
largely depends on the social norms of a specific
ethnicity, and the media only promote these
norms. Such conclusions require additional
research.
So, the study showed that the media really
influence the body attitude of young people and
can provoke the development of eating disorders.
However, with proper medical care, people with
eating disorders can regain healthy eating habits,
as well as their emotional and psychological
health (Grigaliūnaitė et al., 2023). Control of the
quantity and quality of consumed content, and
not the time spent on media resource platforms
should be one of the methods of prevention and
overcoming the negative consequences of media
influence (Sanzari et al., 2023). In addition, it is
advisable to study the psychological problems of
young people and the functioning of the brain,
which will make it possible to improve the
attitude to one's body appearance and prevent the
risk of eating disorders (Frank et al., 2018).
Conclusions
The study found that media influence the body
attitude and poses the risk of developing eating
disorders. The obtained results are valuable for
the prevention of eating disorders among young
people. The modern rapid development of the
Internet and especially social networks has
contributed to the fact that young people
excessively use information channels and have a
very low threshold for its filtering. An unbiased
attitude to all informational content leads to
depersonalization and devaluation of the
individual and can significantly disrupt the
homeostasis of the body. Therefore, identifying
the influence of the media on attitudes towards
the body and the risk of developing eating
disorders opens up ways to develop effective
methods of preventing such disorders.
The media should be responsible for the
information presented, so as not to present
unrealistic ideals of body image and appearance.
Preventive measures should be aimed primarily
at promoting a healthy body image and eating
behaviour.
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/ December 2023
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The limitations of the study are the difficult
psychological condition of individuals who have
signs of eating disorders. They actively deny the
existing problem, therefore, identifying the
disorder and providing them with help requires
the active involvement of such persons in
cooperation. The issue of the extent at which
young people themselves determine distorted
media content regarding the body and beauty also
remains unexplored. Another unexplored issue is
whether young people who have problems with
body image and nutrition are actively looking for
unattainable ideals and standards in the media.
The prospects of the study include determining
gender peculiarities in the perception of one's
own body and manifestations of eating disorders.
It is also important to establish which media
channels most determine a distorted attitude
towards one's own appearance.
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