{"title":"Tendencies of eating disordered behaviours in male content creators: a social media analysis.","authors":"Alina Schmitt, Marius Frenser, Tobias Fischer","doi":"10.1186/s40337-025-01395-8","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Eating disorders are primarily associated with women and an obsession with thinness. Recent research and social media content show that men are also concerned about their body image, striving for a muscular and athletic physique. To investigate eating disorder tendencies among male content creators with a mesomorphic body type (N = 26), a social media analysis was conducted on Instagram and TikTok over four weeks. Published content and profiles were screened using ICD-11 diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa, which were then adapted to take account of gender differences. A total of 2,985 posts were recorded, of which 69% were classified as relevant to diet, exercise and body content. Six content creators (23%) met the ICD-11 diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa, while gender-specific adaptations identified 15 individuals (58%) with tendencies toward an eating disorder. The profile analysis shows that gender-specific adaptation of the diagnostic criteria with regard to the pursuit of muscularity can facilitate the additional recognition of eating disorder-related behaviours in males. Male children and adolescents should be educated at an early stage to avoid critical behaviour patterns and the internalisation of utopian beauty ideals.</p>","PeriodicalId":48605,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Eating Disorders","volume":"13 1","pages":"201"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12418650/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Eating Disorders","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-025-01395-8","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"NUTRITION & DIETETICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Eating disorders are primarily associated with women and an obsession with thinness. Recent research and social media content show that men are also concerned about their body image, striving for a muscular and athletic physique. To investigate eating disorder tendencies among male content creators with a mesomorphic body type (N = 26), a social media analysis was conducted on Instagram and TikTok over four weeks. Published content and profiles were screened using ICD-11 diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa, which were then adapted to take account of gender differences. A total of 2,985 posts were recorded, of which 69% were classified as relevant to diet, exercise and body content. Six content creators (23%) met the ICD-11 diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa, while gender-specific adaptations identified 15 individuals (58%) with tendencies toward an eating disorder. The profile analysis shows that gender-specific adaptation of the diagnostic criteria with regard to the pursuit of muscularity can facilitate the additional recognition of eating disorder-related behaviours in males. Male children and adolescents should be educated at an early stage to avoid critical behaviour patterns and the internalisation of utopian beauty ideals.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Eating Disorders is the first open access, peer-reviewed journal publishing leading research in the science and clinical practice of eating disorders. It disseminates research that provides answers to the important issues and key challenges in the field of eating disorders and to facilitate translation of evidence into practice.
The journal publishes research on all aspects of eating disorders namely their epidemiology, nature, determinants, neurobiology, prevention, treatment and outcomes. The scope includes, but is not limited to anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and other eating disorders. Related areas such as important co-morbidities, obesity, body image, appetite, food and eating are also included. Articles about research methodology and assessment are welcomed where they advance the field of eating disorders.