School of Psychology, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia.
School of Psychology, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia.
Eat Behav. 2019 Apr;33:13-17. doi: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2019.02.003. Epub 2019 Feb 10.
My Fitness Pal (MFP) is a calorie-tracking smartphone application that is gaining popularity worldwide. Although MFP has the potential to be a cheap and efficient weight-loss tool, concerns that MFP could trigger, maintain, or exacerbate eating disorder symptoms have been raised. Preliminary research has documented associations between MFP use and eating disorder symptoms in women with eating disorders and in undergraduate students. However, whether these associations exist additionally in a male-only sample has not been tested. Thus, we aimed to estimate MFP usage and examine its association with eating disorder symptoms and psychosocial impairment in a male sample. Cross-sectional data were analysed from 122 male participants (M = 28.4, SD = 8.93) recruited primarily through fitness-related social media sites. Around half (56%) of the sample reported having used MFP. Nearly 40% of users perceived MFP as a factor contributing to disorder eating symptoms to some extent. MFP users reported significantly higher levels of attitudinal (dichotomous thinking, shape, weight, and eating concerns) and behavioural (binge eating, dietary restraint) eating disorder symptoms and psychosocial impairment than non-users. Effect sizes were large. MFP use also predicted unique variance in global attitudinal symptoms after controlling for eating disorder behaviours, impairment, and demographics. That nearly one-third of men perceived MFP as a factor contributing to their disordered eating highlights the possible utility of enquiring about the use of calorie-tracking apps when screening and assessing for eating disorder symptoms in men.
My Fitness Pal（MFP）是一款流行于全球的卡路里追踪智能手机应用程序。尽管 MFP 有可能成为一种廉价且高效的减肥工具，但有人担心它可能会引发、维持或加重饮食失调症状。初步研究记录了在患有饮食失调症的女性和大学生中，MFP 使用与饮食失调症状之间的关联。然而，这些关联是否在仅男性样本中存在尚未得到检验。因此，我们旨在评估男性样本中 MFP 的使用情况，并研究其与饮食失调症状和心理社会障碍的关系。本研究对 122 名男性参与者（M=28.4，SD=8.93）进行了横断面数据分析，这些参与者主要通过与健身相关的社交媒体网站招募而来。样本中约有一半（56%）的人报告使用过 MFP。近 40%的用户认为 MFP 在某种程度上是导致饮食失调症状的一个因素。与非使用者相比，MFP 用户报告了更高水平的态度（二分思维、体型、体重和进食担忧）和行为（暴食、饮食限制）饮食失调症状和心理社会障碍。效应量较大。在控制了饮食失调行为、障碍和人口统计学因素后，MFP 使用还预测了整体态度症状的独特差异。近三分之一的男性认为 MFP 是导致他们饮食失调的一个因素，这突显了在筛查和评估男性饮食失调症状时询问使用卡路里追踪应用程序的可能性。
