Improving body image in female Chinese social media users with eating disorder symptoms: a randomized controlled trial of two online self-guided single-session interventions

Social media use is a risk factor for eating and body image disturbances. The overlap between social media and eating and body image disturbances is particularly concerning in the Chinese context given an estimated billion active social media users in China, especially among females. This highlights the need for scalable, culturally adapted prevention and intervention strategies. This study developed and evaluated two online, self-guided, single-session interventions (SSIs), including a Media Literacy Intervention (MLI) and a Body Functionality-focused expressive writing Intervention (BFI), alongside waitlist controls, and examined their ability to improve body image among adult female Chinese social media users with eating disorder (ED) symptoms.