Screen use and disordered eating: associations vary by activity
A review of research in children and adolescents linked excessive screen use with disordered eating, but the largely cross-sectional evidence cannot establish which comes first.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The review found associations between excessive screen use and disordered eating, with patterns differing by the kind of screen activity. Most included studies measured exposure and eating behavior at the same time, so they cannot establish that screen use caused eating problems. The abstract also does not identify a clear ranking of screen activities by risk.
The authors highlight the limited study pool, the predominance of cross-sectional designs and sparse evidence in younger children. The abstract provides no pooled effect estimate or quantified comparisons between screen activities.
Screen activities were not interchangeable
The review considered activities such as social media, television and video games. Its central question concerned whether eating-related associations differed across these uses, rather than treating all time spent with a screen as equivalent.
Other factors may be involved
Some included studies suggested that sleep difficulties or poor mental health might help explain the association. The abstract does not establish those pathways, leaving uncertainty about how screen use, wellbeing and eating behavior are connected.
The original publication
A systematic review on the eating behaviors of youth exceeding electronic device recommendations.
Coleman A, Neumann D, Cole AS et al.
Front Psychol · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41050805
- Record checked
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