Social media habits and binge-eating in teens
Official title: Investigating relationships between problematic social media use and binge-eating disorder to inform precision guidance for adolescents
Funded at University of California, San Francisco · NIH-11122359 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will see if patterns of social media use predict binge-eating behaviors in adolescents.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2023 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,894,979 |
| NIH project number | 4RF1MH135492-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11122359 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adolescents who regularly use social media, roughly from early adolescence (around age 10) through the late teen years.
✕Less likely to help
Adults outside the adolescent age range or people who do not use social media are unlikely to benefit directly from participation.
What this research studies
You would be followed from early to late adolescence while researchers collect information about your social media use and eating behaviors. They will gather phone-derived measures of online use plus surveys about mood, sleep, cyberbullying, and stress. The team will look for when teens are most at risk and whether factors like depression, anxiety, or poor sleep explain links between social media and binge-eating. Results will be used to develop clearer, more personalized guidance for teens, families, and clinicians.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to age-specific recommendations that help teens, parents, and clinicians reduce the risk of binge-eating tied to social media use.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies have shown links between social media and disordered eating but were mostly single-timepoint; using phone-based longitudinal data is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Nagata, Jason M — University of California, San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Nagata, Jason M
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.