Evaluation of social media influences on dietary habits and physical activity among university students in Lahore
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Date
2025
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UMT, Lahore
Abstract
The rise in utilization of social media has become an emerging public health concern across university students. Exposure to idealized body standards and popular health content on social media platforms may shape students' eating habits and patterns of physical activity. This study was aimed at exploring the effects of social media usage on consumption of food and extent of bodily movement among university students in Lahore. This cross-sectional study used a sample size of 385 students selected randomly from Punjab University, Government College University Lahore, University of Management and Technology, and The University of Lahore. Data was collected using a standardized questionnaire included demographic information, social media usage, eating habit, level of physical activities and perceptions of physical activity. The findings demonstrated no statistically significant association existed between utilization of social media and disordered eating practices or the behavior of engaging in physical activity. In addition to this, the utilization of social media (SESMEB) was not significantly associated with disordered eating attitude (EAT-26) (p> 0.05) or physical activity levels as determined by using IPAQ-SF (p> 0.05). However, disordered eating attitude were significantly associated with physical activity (p< 0.05), implying that the students with disordered eating attitudes can exhibit irregular physical activity patterns, possibly as a result of compensatory behaviors. Furthermore, there was no evident association observed between attitudes and perceptions of social media use and disordered eating attitude (p> 0.05). The findings indicate that the growing trend of social media usage has no measurable effect on dietary or physical activity behaviors in university students. Future longitudinal and experimental studies are required for better and effective interventions to promote healthier behaviors among university students in Pakistan.