Associations Between Body Image, Eating Behaviors, and Diet Quality Among Young Women in New Zealand: The Role of Social Media

Background/Objectives: This study investigates the relationship between diet quality and body image disturbance among young women aged 18–24, a crucial period for establishing lifelong health behaviors. Given the increasing exposure to social media, which often promotes unrealistic beauty standards, this research aims to explore associations between eating behaviors, diet quality, and body image disturbance. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining qualitative focus group discussions with quantitative analysis. Focus groups (n = 19) explored themes of body image dissatisfaction. The Body Image Disturbance Questionnaire (BIDQ) was administered to 50 participants (young women aged 18–24) to quantitatively assess body image disturbance, while diet quality was evaluated using the Australian Recommended Food Scores (ARFS). The Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R18) was also used to assess eating behaviors, including cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating, and emotional eating. A social influence questionnaire (SIQ) was administered to measure the effect of social influence. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationship between ARFS, BIDQ, and TFEQ-R18 scores. Results: Qualitative findings revealed persistent dissatisfaction with body shape, largely influenced by social media. Quantitatively, 65% of participants scored above the clinical threshold for body image disturbance (mean BIDQ score = 4.2, SD = 0.8). The correlation between ARFS and BIDQ scores was weak and not statistically significant (r = 0.057, p = 0.711). However, a significant positive correlation was observed between time spent on social media and body image disturbance (r = 0.58, p < 0.01). Additionally, TFEQ-R18 results indicated that 45% of participants displayed moderate levels of uncontrolled eating, and 36.5% demonstrated moderate levels of emotional eating. Conclusions: While social media is associated with body image concerns, its effect on eating behaviors and diet quality shows weak correlations, suggesting that other factors may mediate these outcomes. These results suggest the complexity of the associations between body image, eating behaviors, and diet quality, indicating that interventions should consider psychological drivers behind these concerns alongside social media usage.