Social media trends linked with body dysmorphia and nutrient deficiencies in young women | Pocketmags.com

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Social media trends linked with body dysmorphia and nutrient deficiencies in young women

Image-altering filters on apps like Snapchat and FaceTune are leading to increased demand for cosmetic surgery from people who want to change their appearance to improve their selfies, according to new figures.

55% of plastic surgeons have reported cases of patients seeking surgery purely to appear more attractive in pictures, found Boston Medical Center researchers in a paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

They argued that as edited images found on social media have become the norm, people’s perception of beauty is being warped, triggering body dysmorphic disorder (BDD).

“[Filtered selfies] can be especially harmful for teens and those with BDD, and it is important for providers to understand the implications of social media on body image to better treat and counsel our patients”, said Neelam Vashi, director of the Ethnic Skin Center at BMC and Boston University School of Medicine. Separately, another new study found that diet and lifestyle trends promoted on social media are responsible for significant nutrient deficiencies in young women. Researchers at Frontiers in Nutrition found that young UK women are particularly vulnerable to micronutrient shortages. They linked this to fitness and dieting trends popularised by social media, which women in their 20s are most likely to show interest in.

This article appears in Professional Beauty September 2018

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This article appears in...
Professional Beauty September 2018
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