Breakfast in the digital age: The influence of social media use and diet content on eating behaviours among Canadian adolescents

Abstract

Background. A notable lack of regular breakfast consumption has been observed among adolescents. Given that social media has a powerful influence on adolescent populations, concerns are emerging that breakfast skipping may be affected by diets promoted on social media. To address these concerns, the mediating role of following diets promoted on social media on the relationship between social media use and breakfast skipping was investigated while exploring potential variations in these relationships across genders among a large sample of Canadian adolescents. Methods. Data from the 2022/23 Canadian Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) and Cannabis, Obesity, Mental health, Physical activity, Alcohol, Smoking, Sedentary behaviour (COMPASS) studies were analyzed. Utilizing a structural equation modelling approach, mediation models were generated to examine the association between adolescents’ social media use and breakfast skipping, and the influence of diets promoted on social media on this relationship. To identify any significant indirect effects, bootstrap estimation models with 5,000 samples were constructed. Results. 64.1% of HBSC and 52.5% of COMPASS participants skipped breakfast regularly. Full-sample mediation models revealed a statistically significant relationship between social media use and breakfast skipping. In gender-stratified analyses, following diets promoted on social media explained 18.1% of the association between social media use and breakfast skipping among cisgender girls. Concusion. Given the negative impact of diet content promoted on social media, policy should target school-and community-based initiatives, adolescent social media literacy, and regulation of social media content to promote healthy eating habits and long-term health outcomes among adolescents.