Facebook 'Likes' linked to eating disorders: Study

Facebook shares and likes are reportedly linked to eating disorders, a new study has revealed.

Study led by Florida State University researchers states that frequent Facebook users might be sharing more than party pictures, vacation videos and selfies.

The study conducted on 960 college women found that more time on Facebook was associated with higher levels of disordered eating.

It was found that women who placed greater importance on receiving comments and "likes" on their status updates and were more likely to untag photos of themselves and compare their own photos to friends' posted photos reported the highest levels of disordered eating.

Psychology Professor Pamela K. Keel said that Facebook provides a fun way to stay connected with friends, but it also presents women with a new medium through which they are confronted by a thin ideal that impacts their risk for eating disorders.

The Florida State study is the first to show that spending just 20 minutes on Facebook actually contributes to the risk of eating disorders by reinforcing women's concerns about weight and shape and increasing anxiety.

Keel said that eating disorders are associated with the highest rates of mortality of any psychiatric illness, and with high rates of chronicity, they're not things that women necessarily grow out of.

The professor advised women to consider what it is they are pursuing when they post on Facebook, and to remember that they are a whole person and not an object.