Posting photoshopped food selfies on Instagram increases risk of eating disorders without increasing the number likes or comments such posts receive, new research reveals.

Florida State University scientists found a consistent and direct link between posting edited photos on Instagram and risk factors for eating disorders.

Specifically, digitally editing pictures to improve personal appearance before posting photos to Instagram increased weight and shape concerns in college students.

The study, which is published in the International Journal Eating Disorders ^[1]Wick, MR, Keel, PK. Posting edited photos of the self: Increasing eating disorder risk or harmless behaviour? International Journal Eating Disorders. 2020; 1– 9. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23263, also found that posting photos (edited or unedited) contributed to greater anxiety and reinforced urges to restrict food intake and exercise compared with not posting photos.

“As more people turn to social media to stay connected, it’s critically important to let others see you as you are,” said co-author Pamela K. Keel, PhD, of Florida State University. “Compared with edited photos, we saw no decrease in the number of likes or comments for unedited photos on Instagram; knowing this could reduce harmful pressures to change how you look.”

The researchers examined associations between posting edited photos and mental health measures in 2,485 undergraduates, three quarters of whom were female, in the first stage.

Next, they examined causal associations between posting edited photos and eating disorder risk factors in 80 undergraduates, nine in ten who were female, who endorsed posting edited photos in the first stage and volunteered for the experimental portion of the study.

The Keel’s team found that those who endorsed posting edited photos reported greater eating pathology and anxiety than those who did not, but no differences were found for depressive symptoms.

They also found in the second stage that posting edited photos caused increased weight/shape concerns.

“Posting photos reinforced urges to exercise and restrict food intake and anxiety,” the authors wrote. “Editing photos without posting caused an immediate decrease in weight/shape concerns and a delayed decrease in sadness.”