Research
Adherence
Increased exposure to media content related to weight gain, diet culture, and pandemic stress, combined with increased use of video-conferencing, increases eating disorder risk by heightening body image concerns and social comparison.
Be mindful of your media consumption, especially on social media. Limit exposure to content that promotes thin ideals or diet culture. If you use video-conferencing, try to focus on the conversation rather than your appearance, and take breaks from screens to reduce body image preoccupation.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
The COVID-19 pandemic may also be associated with increased risk for ED behaviors relative to media effects in three ways: (a) specific exposure to harmful eating and appearance-related media, particularly on social media; (b) effects of general media consumption; and (c) the increased use of video-conferencing while working from home.
Why this rating
Based on theoretical review and cited literature, not new primary data.
Source
The impact of the <scp>COVID</scp>‐19 pandemic on eating disorder risk and symptoms
Rachel F. Rodgers et al. · International Journal of Eating Disorders · 2020
DOI 10.1002/eat.23318
narrative_reviewCited 663×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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- Fears of contagion and health concerns related to the pandemic can increase eating disorder risk by promoting restrictive diets focused on immunity or avoiding foods perceived as contaminated.Moderate
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