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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Psychol.

Sec. Eating Behavior

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1649571

This article is part of the Research TopicWearable Health Technologies: New Frontiers in Eating and Weight-Related ProblemsView all articles

A systematic review on the eating behaviors of youth exceeding electronic device recommendations

Provisionally accepted
Anna  ColemanAnna Coleman*Devin  NeumannDevin NeumannAngela  Sasaki ColeAngela Sasaki ColeClark  BradyClark BradyAlex  ParkAlex ParkJason  OdishoJason OdishoKaylynn  MoschkeKaylynn MoschkeLogan  NautsLogan Nauts
  • Central Michigan University College of Medicine, Mount Pleasant, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Background: As the rates of both disordered eating and electronic device usage in youth and adolescents have increased over the last two decades, several studies have looked to determine if there is any relationship between the two variables. While excessive screen use has broadly been shown to correlated with abnormal eating behaviors, newer research reveals that different types of screen use (e.g., social media, television, or video games) affect eating behaviors in youth and adolescents. The goal of this systematic review is to analyze to what extent different types of screen use are associated with disordered eating habits, as well as assess for nuance in both the age of the population studied, as well as the geographic location of the study. Methods: A search of relevant terms was conducted from PubMed (n=1234) and Scopus (n=301) in July of 2024. Included articles examined the relationship between one or more types of screen use and eating behaviors or disorders, were published between 2014 and 2024, and involved participants aged 0-17. Exclusion criteria consisted of articles solely looking at BMI and/or diet as an outcome, as well as articles that studied an adult population. Risk of bias was assessed using the MMAT® 2018 criteria. Results: Sixteen studies were included in the final analysis, majorly consisting of cross-sectional studies. Results indicated that while there is overwhelming evidence that excessive screen use is correlated with disordered eating habits at large, individual trends in disordered eating vary depending on the type of screen exposure. Furthermore, some studies suggest that disordered eating is a secondary sequela associated with screen time, with the primary cause being lack of sleep or poor mental health. Discussion: This review is limited by small number of included studies and high number of cross-sectional studies. Findings allow for clinicians to evaluate their pediatric patients more holistically when treating for disordered eating. Furthermore, both clinicians and public health officials alike should consider type of screen time when making recommendations for healthy amounts of screen time for children and adolescents. Funding/Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no funding sources or conflicts of interest to disclose

Keywords: Youth, Adolescent, Screen use, Eating Disorders, Television

Received: 18 Jun 2025; Accepted: 29 Aug 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Coleman, Neumann, Sasaki Cole, Brady, Park, Odisho, Moschke and Nauts. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Anna Coleman, Central Michigan University College of Medicine, Mount Pleasant, United States

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