‘Secondhand’ TV exposure may lead to eating disorders

Boston, MA, United States (AHN) – A new study suggests that not only is watching too much television bad for young people’s health, having friends that watch too much TV may adversely affect them too.

Researchers with Harvard Medical School’s Department of Global Health and Social Media examined the link between media consumption and eating disorders among teen girls in Fiji. They said they were surprised to find that the biggest factor for eating disorders was how many of a subject’s friends and schoolmates had access to TV.

Direct exposure, like personal or parental viewing, did not have any independent impact when factors like urban location, body shape and other influences were taken into account, the researchers said.

Peer media exposure was linked to a 60-percent increase in girls’ odds of having a high level of eating disorder symptoms, independent of the teens’ personal viewing.

“Our findings suggest that social network exposure is not just a minor influence on eating pathology here, but rather, is the exposure concern,” the researchers said in a statement.

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