How Perfectionism and Eating Disorder Symptoms Contribute to Searching Weight-Loss Information on the Internet?

• Main Authors: Katarina Prnjak, Ivan Jukic, Anita Lauri Korajlija
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-09-01
• Series: Medicina
• Subjects: online searching; health; diet; body mass index; women
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1010-660X/55/10/621

<em>Background and Objectives:</em> Eating disorder (ED) symptoms are a growing problem and modern technologies introduced a new and unexplored potential risk factor for vulnerable individuals. It is fairly common for women to use the Internet in order to find information about various weight-loss methods, but it was further questioned whether perfectionism and eating disorder symptomatology could be linked to this behavior. <em>Materials and Methods</em>: Participants were 228 women (Mean age = 30.5; SD = 9.43) recruited via social media, who provided responses on measures of perfectionism, eating disorder symptoms, and a short check-list measuring the frequency of online searching about five topics (food, diet, exercise, body appearance, and eating disorders). <em>Results:</em> Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that the BMI and Discrepancy subscale of APS-R significantly predicted online searching, along with eating disorder symptomatology. Moreover, mediation analyses resulted in a significant indirect effect, but not a direct effect, indicating that eating disorder symptomatology fully mediated the relationship between BMI and online searching, as well as between maladaptive perfectionism and online searching. <em>Conclusion:</em> These findings shed light on a high BMI and maladaptive perfectionism as potential risk factors for eating disorder-related behavior on the Internet. More attention to online-seeking behavior among women symptomatic of ED is warranted, and websites containing such topics should include information about professional help for eating disorder-symptomatic individuals.