Abstract
BackgroundOnline dating has become increasingly popular over the years. Few research studies have examined the association between dating apps and disordered eating. In this study, we evaluated the association between dating app use and unhealthy weight control behaviors (UWCBs) among a sample of U.S. adults.MethodsOur sample includes 1769 adults who completed an online survey assessing dating app use and UWCBs in the past year. Survey assessed participants’ self-reported frequency of using dating apps within the past 30 days and engagement in six UWCBs with the purpose of lowering weight or changing their body shape within the past 12 months. UWCBs included vomiting, laxative use, fasting, diet pill use, muscle building supplement use, and use of anabolic steroids.ResultsResults of multivariate logistic regression models suggest dating app users had substantially elevated odds of UWCBs compared with non-users (odds ratios [OR] range = 2.7—16.2). These findings were supported by results of additional gender-stratified multivariate logistic regression analyses among women and men.ConclusionsThis study’s findings contribute to the limited literature exploring the association between dating app use and adverse health outcomes, particularly UWCBs. While additional longitudinal and representative research is needed, public health professionals ought to explore dating app use as a potential risk factor for UWCBs.
Highlights
Online dating has become increasingly popular over the years
To achieve our study aims, we conducted a series of multivariate logistic regression models with dating app use as the main predictor, controlling for sex, race/ethnicity, income, age, marital status, sexual orientation, to estimate the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of each dichotomized unhealthy weight control behaviors (UWCBs)
This study contributes to the limited literature by exploring the association between dating app use and UWCBs
Summary
Online dating has become increasingly popular over the years. Results from a 2017 survey suggest current dating app use could be as high as 30% among 18- to 29-year-old U.S adults [2]. Mobile dating applications – commonly referred to as “dating apps” in popular culture – are designed to enable (2019) 7:16 their users to locate potential romantic partners, friends, and other acquaintances [3]. While they are primarily marketed as an avenue to find dates and potential romantic partners, motivations to use dating apps have evolved over time. Regardless of sexual orientation identity, the majority of online dating users agree that dating digitally has many advantages over other ways of finding romantic partners, such as increased ease of use and efficiency, and likelihood of finding a better match [1]
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