Queensland eating disorders jump 400 per cent alongside social media rise

Social media has been linked to a disturbing new health concern and experts fear that is just the start. ALL THE DETAILS

• Editor’s view: Proof social media fuelling body crisis

Queensland has seen a disturbing 400 per cent increase in eating disorder hospitalisations since the introduction of social media more than 20 years ago, new health data shows.

In 2000, shortly after the release of MSN, just 361 young people and 977 people aged over 20 were admitted to Queensland hospitals with a suspected eating disorder.

Fast forward to 2021, Queensland hospitals recorded a total of 8468 eating disorder admissions.

In the data, filed in a report commissioned by The Courier-Mail, spikes in admissions can be seen alongside the launch of Facebook in 2004, YouTube and Bebo in 2005, and Instagram and Snapchat in 2010 and 2011.

But the largest increase by far comes after the release of TikTok in 2016, when admissions jumped from 3000 to more than 5000 in just two years.

During the rise of TikTok, child eating disorder admissions have shot up 92 per cent, and adults 52 per cent.

Griffith University psychology professor Dr Veya Seekis who specialises in body image in young people said it was unsurprising TikTok was the prime offender due to its unfettered algorithm and popularity among vulnerable, young age groups.

Professor Veya Seekis has conducted a groundbreaking study into the effects of social media on body dysmorphic disorder.

“Content that promotes diet, weight loss, and exercise for appearance (not health), together with idealised and edited imagery, encourages a toxic body image culture on TikTok,” she said.

“TikTok is also more algorithmically driven than other image-based apps such as Instagram, which means the algorithm pushes or promotes videos that are most likely to capture users’ interests and keep them scrolling and watching by constantly learning from their behaviour and adjusting its recommendations.”

Eating disorder hospital admissions then peaked heavily during pandemic years, climbing to 6600 in 2020, before jumping up to 8400 in 2021.

Dr Seekis said Covid social media consumption was higher during lockdowns, and likely used to combat isolation.

“But it may have also presented opportunities for people to be influenced by toxic body-related culture and begin to focus on things they can control during that time, like their weight,” she said.

“We need more done by governing bodies to monitor and remove harmful content, or to reset the algorithm such that neutral or positive content is presented in the feed to mitigate the harmful effects.”

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman at the Queensland Children’s Hospital on Sunday. Picture Lachie Millard

Eating disorder support and prevention services last month met with the federal government and called for tighter regulations on social media providers to help make online environments safer for young people.

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said the rise in eating disorders was disturbing and social media providers played a crucial role in prevention.

“We have to be working with social media giants to make sure that there are healthy messages about body image,” she said.

“I know that the federal government is working with these providers and I’m prepared to do anything we can here in Queensland to combat those changes.”

While a significant spike was seen during the pandemic, Queensland Health recorded a steady increase in eating disorder presentations over the past five years.

In the 2015-16 financial year 3567 hospital admissions related to an eating disorder, compared with 5869 in the 2019-20 financial year, mostly patients aged 20-29.

Last year 2212 Queenslanders aged 19 and below were admitted to hospital with an eating disorder, as well as an additional 4500 aged above 19.

Queensland Health earlier this year announced a $40 million funding pool to establish a statewide comprehensive network of eating disorder services, including $3.67 million towards five new public beds to people who need to access residential treatment for eating disorders.

Clinical and non-clinical support is available for Queenslanders with eating disorders through the Queensland Eating Disorder Service (QuEDS) and the Child and Youth Mental Health Service (CYMHS) Eating Disorder Program (EDP).

Originally published as Queensland eating disorders jump 400 per cent alongside social media rise