Research Prospectus

Research Prospectus

The impact of social media on pregnant and postpartum women in relation to eating disorders

Introduction

In a society burdened with the weight of a society highly concerned with outward appearance and manipulative food habits, eating disorders continue to be an ongoing health disparity among all ages, genders, and societies.^1,2.3 Eating disorders derive for varying reasons across many different fields and much research has been done to understand the culprit of health concern that plagues so many individuals.¹ There are some correlations that exist within the eating disorder prevalence that are continually researched to better understand and discuss. Much of the research supports that while eating disorders occur in both men and women, old and young, they are most frequently reported among younger to middle aged adult women.⁶Among the young adult population participating in disorder eating behaviors or whom report an eating disorder, there has been found to be correlation between social media consumption impacts as well.² Increased concern among the frequency of inaccurate health information circulating on social media plays into the concern for obsessions around food which could inherently lead to disordered eating behaviors.²

Among this concern, a population that is not as commonly discussed but is also a grave concern for eating disorders is pregnant and postpartum women.³ The societal pressures to fit an image during pregnancy, eat perfectly, and quickly remove the evidence of pregnancy once the baby is born. The most common social media influencers with a large presence are women. With the commonality of health information being shown throughout social media platforms, women are looking to other women on these platforms for advice during pregnancy and social media, and they are often receiving inaccurate, anecdotal information, especially the nutrition information that is available to consume.³ There is perceived concern for women going through this stage of life and possible prevalence of eating disorders.⁸

Research Question

This study is aimed at examining the influence that social media consumption has on pregnant and postpartum eating disorders. Does the increase of social media consumption influence a pregnant or postpartum woman to hyper focus on nutrition concerns or body image? The research question is: Among pregnant and postpartum women, is there a relationship between social media exposure and eating disorders? The hypothesis for this research prospectus is that social media consumption will have a significant influence on the rate of eating disorders among this population.

Literature Review

As the functionality of social media evolves, the way the world consumes information also evolves. There is an increasing concern for the impact of social media and the harms of misinformation that is voluntarily proclaimed by individuals lacking the credentials to do so. The fine between harm and benefit of social media becomes prevalent as the outcomes of this misinformation becomes a causation to the health and wellbeing of individuals. The pregnant and postpartum population are of particular concern as this specific time and condition becomes a vital time for accurate nutrition information. Statistically, women consume social media information at higher rates compared to men along with a statistically higher number of social media influencers being women who seemingly also give out a lot of unsolicited content.¹ For women in the category of pregnancy and postpartum period of their lives, it becomes a very vulnerable time to navigate information with the desire to do what’s best. There is grave concern for eating disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum period as obsessions around food and body image become so overpowering that it then begins to impact the nutritional status and health of the pregnant or postpartum woman.³

Research shows strong indications of the harms of social media among this population of pregnant and postpartum women exposed to the inaccurate nutrition claims that can be found on social media pregnancy accounts.² Furthering the research on this issue among the population of women impacted is vital to better understand the way that maternal health could be threatened.⁴ It is no surprise to anyone that social media is largely portraying an image that is not reality and very rarely accuracy. However, social media information content is often consumed by individuals seeking support and community which can be commonplace for information that feels relevant. This is often the situation among pregnant and postpartum women hoping for nutrition information that leads to a healthy pregnancy and postpartum experience. However, the way social media often portrays health content can come off as very binary leading to rigid, obsessive thoughts around eating habits.⁵

Eating disorders are becoming increasing prevalent among this population at quite an alarming rate.⁸ The relationship between social media content overload and this continual increase in eating disorder cases among these women is reason enough to further the research of this correlation for the health and well-being of pregnant and postpartum women. The literature has shown that social media content is very often believed and trusted and for populations such as pregnant and postpartum women, it’s imperative that these women receive reliable information and can thus focus on their health and preserving the health of their baby without the negative influence of social media content.

Methodology

The study design for this prospective study is such that will reflect a quantitative manner of cross-sectional research. A survey will be utilized via survey monkey to gather information and be analyzed.

The sample population of this research study is current pregnant women or women who are in the postpartum phase for up to 2 years. As long as the participants qualify with these two criteria, they are eligible to participate in the research study. Age is irrelevant to this study, and gender will honored if a self-identifying pregnant or postpartum male would like to participate.

This population will be gathered throughout four different OBGYN clinics throughout the Salt Lake City, Utah valley. These clinics, their physicians, and medical assistants will be trained by research staff on the nature of the study, it’s importance and relevance to the population being seen within the clinic, and how to discuss the study with patients so as to recruit as many participants as possible to ensure a suitable number of participants are received. Once the patients are seen, they will be briefed about this study opportunity, then given a pamphlet with details they can refer to as they consider participating. Once they determine they would like to participate, there will be a QR code linked to a site where they will input their information to then receive the survey.

The survey will be a combination of questions regarding eating behaviors during pregnancy and/or after depending on relevance.⁹ Social media questions will begin the survey determining how frequent the participant uses and adheres to social media information. There will be a section designated to specific eating disorder behavior including yes/no questions and explanatory answers. Participants will be able to go into as much or as little detail as they would like, it will be up to them. Attrition rate will be <10%.

Informed consent will be properly obtained and recorded prior to furthering the survey online. The Belmont Report Criteria will be accurately followed due to the nature of using human subjects for this research study. The rights of the participant will be well laid out and well defined prior to the furthering of the survey. Confidentiality will be of upmost priority throughout the research process.

Discussion

This research will be key components of a body of research that has not adequately been explored. The concerns of pregnant and postpartum health is among the highest of priorities.³ The topic of eating disorders must frequent this discussion, and research such as this will aid in data determining the concern for disordered behavior.^2,8 It is anticipated that a significant correlation will be made between social media exposure and the prevalence of eating disorders among postpartum and pregnant women.

Some limitations do exist including the self-reported nature of this study and the inaccuracy that likely corresponds with that. The aim of this will be to better understand the impact of social media and the misinformation among the vulnerable population of pregnant and postpartum women.

References

1. Smink FR, van Hoeken D, Hoek HW. Epidemiology of eating disorders: incidence, prevalence and mortality rates. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2012;14(4):406-414. doi:10.1007/s11920-012-0282-y
2. Sidani JE, Shensa A, Hoffman B, Hanmer J, Primack BA. The Association between Social Media Use and Eating Concerns among US Young Adults. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2016;116(9):1465-1472. doi:10.1016/j.jand.2016.03.021
3. Martínez-Olcina M, Rubio-Arias JA, Reche-García C, et al. Eating Disorders in Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women: A Systematic Review. Medicina (Kaunas). 2020;56(7):352. Published 2020 Jul 15. doi:10.3390/medicina56070352
4. Oviatt JR, Reich SM. Pregnancy posting: exploring characteristics of social media posts around pregnancy and user engagement. Mhealth. 2019;5:46. Published 2019 Oct 8. doi:10.21037/mhealth.2019.09.09
5. Nagl M, Jepsen L, Linde K, Kersting A. Social media use and postpartum body image dissatisfaction: The role of appearance-related social comparisons and thin-ideal internalization. Midwifery. 2021;100:103038. doi:10.1016/j.midw.202103038
6. Aparicio-Martinez P, Perea-Moreno AJ, Martinez-Jimenez MP, Redel-Macías MD, Pagliari C, Vaquero-Abellan M. Social Media, Thin-Ideal, Body Dissatisfaction and Disordered Eating Attitudes: An Exploratory Analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(21):4177. Published 2019 Oct 29. doi:10.3390/ijerph16214177
7. Martínez-Olcina M, Rubio-Arias JA, Reche-García C, et al. Eating Disorders in Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women: A Systematic Review. Medicina (Kaunas). 2020;56(7):352. Published 2020 Jul 15. doi:10.3390/medicina56070352
8. Jacobsen KH. Introduction to Health Research Methods. Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC; 2016.
9. SurveyMonkey: The World’s Most Popular Free Online Survey Tool. SurveyMonkey. https://www.surveymonkey.com/. Published 2021.