Screen Time & Eating Disorders: New Study Links Smartphone Use to Youth Health Risks

• A new study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research links problematic smartphone use to disordered eating symptoms in youth.
• Researchers at King’s College London reviewed 35 studies involving 52,584 participants, with an average age of 17.
• Excessive smartphone use is associated with emotional overeating, uncontrolled eating, and food addiction.
• Negative effects were strongest for those using phones over 7 hours daily, leading to greater appearance dissatisfaction due to idealized online body types.
• The study emphasizes that while phones don't cause disorders, they are a major risk factor, urging doctors to consider phone use in patient treatment.