Premium
Disordered eating following exposure to television and internet coverage of the March 2011 japan earthquake
Author(s) -
Rodgers Rachel F.,
Franko Debra L.,
Brunet Alain,
Herbert Christophe F.,
Bui Eric
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/eat.22031
Subject(s) - dieting , disordered eating , distressing , psychology , demography , clinical psychology , eating disorders , psychiatry , medicine , weight loss , obesity , chemistry , sociology
Objective: To prospectively explore the relationship between exposure to potentially distressing news content and disordered eating.Method: Within 2 weeks of the March 3, 2011 Japan earthquake, an online survey was conducted among non‐Japanese adults in distant countries ( N = 698) assessing time spent on TV and the internet watching the news as well as peritraumatic reactions to the news and sleep disturbance. Participants were invited to complete a followup survey two months later [ n = 113, mean age (SD) = 38.8 (11.91), 73% female] reporting on eating disorder symptoms.Results: Exposure to TV and, to a lesser extent, internet coverage of the Japan disaster were associated with disordered eating, in particular dieting and oral control, as measured by the eating attitudes test. Peritraumatic reactions and sleep disturbance displayed specific patterns of association with disordered eating.Discussion: Exposure to media coverage of distant disasters may be associated with increased disordered eating. © 2012 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2012;45:845–849)