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Associations of problematic smartphone use and smartphone screen time with eating disorder psychopathology in non-clinical samples: a systematic review
The rising prevalence of smartphones has led to problematic smartphone use (PSU), particularly among children and young adults, correlating with adverse mental health outcomes. This systematic review aims to elucidate the relationship between PSU and eating disorder (ED) psychopathology, including body dissatisfaction, emotional eating, and food addiction.
Conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, the review encompassed 35 studies from databases including PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science, focusing on research published after January 2011. The review included data from 52,584 participants (mean age 17.0 years, SD 5.5), predominantly from nonclinical populations, with 78% of studies deemed of good quality based on the modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.
Findings consistently demonstrated a positive correlation between PSU and ED psychopathology across various demographics and geographic regions. Mediators of this relationship included emotional regulation difficulties and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Furthermore, associations were noted between PSU and several ED-related outcomes, including food addiction and emotional overeating. Notably, increased daily smartphone screen time was linked to heightened ED symptoms.
However, the GRADE assessment indicated low certainty for most outcomes due to the predominance of cross-sectional studies, which introduce a high risk of bias. Consequently, while the data suggest a significant association of PSU with ED symptoms in nonclinical populations, the findings are not generalizable to clinical populations. The authors advocate for longitudinal studies to further investigate the implications of PSU and smartphone use on the severity and risk of eating disorders. [NPID: Smartphone, psychopathology, emotional eating, food addiction]
Year: 2026
