Dating apps fuel crash dieting, particularly among men, study finds

Study also finds a correlation between using Tinder and taking laxative pills. Photo / Getty Images

Dating apps are encouraging dangerous crash dieting practices, particularly among men, according to a new study.

An investigation by Harvard University found a strong correlation between people who use apps like Tinder and unhealthy weight-control behaviours such as fasting, vomiting and use of laxative pills.

Analysis of 392 dating app users showed 44.8 per cent of women reported fasting, and 54.1 per cent of men.

Meanwhile 22.4 per cent of women reported vomiting, compared to 36.4 per cent of men, the Daily Telegraph reports.

The elevated odds of these unhealthy weight control behaviours was associated with gender, but not with sexual orientation.

Dr Alvin Tran, who led the research, said: "While we do not know if the people in our study were already engaging in these weight control behaviors before using dating apps, we worry that the use of these image- and appearance-focused services could exacerbate those behaviors."

He added: "To our knowledge, our study is one of the first to explore dating app use in association with unhealthy weight control behaviors."

The study also looked at which dating app users reported using laxatives for weight control, finding that 24 per cent of women had done so and 41 per cent of men.

Other prevalent methods included diet pill use, and use of anabolic steroids or muscle building supplements.

All these behaviours go against medical recommendations for safe weight loss and are considered clinically relevant symptoms of eating disorders, the authors said.

Last year the founder of Bumble, a hugely popular dating app, admitted that such services can be harmful for mental health because they contribute to "smartphone addiction".

Whitney Wolfe has added a new "snooze" function onto Bumble which freezes the app for a set period of time. The new study is published in the Journal of Eating Disorders.