Young adults who struggle with self-esteem may be more vulnerable to unhealthy eating habits, particularly when they feel anxious about how their bodies are judged by others. New research suggests this pattern is especially pronounced among women, highlighting a quiet but significant mental health risk during a life stage marked by transition and pressure. The findings were published in Psychology International.
Emerging adulthood, broadly covering the late teens and twenties, is a period when many people leave home, start university or work, and renegotiate their sense of identity. These shifts can place strain on mental health, and eating behaviours often change alongside them. For some, concerns about body image and food begin to intensify rather than fade.
The study examined nearly 500 university students in Greece, most in their early twenties, and explored how self-esteem, body related anxiety, and eating attitudes interact. Participants completed established psychological questionnaires measuring how they viewed themselves, how anxious they felt about their physical appearance in social situations, and how they thought and behaved around food.
The researchers found that lower self-esteem was closely linked to greater anxiety about how one’s body is perceived by others. This anxiety, known as social physique anxiety, was in turn associated with more problematic eating attitudes, such as excessive dieting or preoccupation with weight and shape.
Crucially, once this body related anxiety was taken into account, self-esteem on its own no longer directly predicted unhealthy eating attitudes. This suggests that it is not simply low self-esteem that drives disordered eating patterns, but the distress people feel when they believe their appearance is being judged in social settings.
Gender differences were striking. Women in the study reported lower self-esteem on average, higher levels of body related social anxiety, and more frequent unhealthy eating attitudes than men. Around one in five participants scored at a level indicating potential risk for an eating disorder, with women making up the large majority of this group.
The link between body related anxiety and eating attitudes was significantly stronger for women, suggesting that social pressures around appearance may weigh more heavily on them. Cultural ideals that emphasise thinness and constant comparison, often amplified through social media, are likely contributors to this imbalance.
Although the research focused on Greek students, the findings echo wider concerns seen across many Western societies. Young adults are increasingly exposed to idealised body images and subtle forms of appearance based evaluation, both online and offline. For those already feeling uncertain about themselves, this can create a feedback loop of anxiety and control around food.
The authors suggest that prevention efforts should look beyond eating behaviour alone and address how young people feel about themselves in social and appearance focused contexts. Supporting healthier self-esteem and reducing anxiety linked to body judgement may help lower the risk of disordered eating, particularly among young women.
The study also underlines the importance of early awareness. Eating disorders often develop before the age of 25, and unhealthy eating attitudes can be an early warning sign. Addressing the psychological pathways that lead to these behaviours may offer a more effective route to prevention.