Adolescence is a period of risk for developing eating disorders. Factors such as parenting styles, attachment styles, temperament and psychological coping skills can trigger the onset of eating disorders (Erdoğan and İşiten, (2021). Eating disorders can develop more rapidly with the effect of body image and impulse control disorders. Uncertainty in the pandemic process, increased stress levels adolescents In a prediction study conducted with patients with depression, the finding related to the age variable is the knowledge that emotional eating behavior increases as the age decreases. Being separated from the social environment in isolation triggers emotional eating as a loneliness factor (İnalkaç & Arslantaş, (2021).
Another population affected by the pandemic process is the adolescent group. Changes in eating behaviors have been observed in adolescents during this period, the rate of admissions with the diagnosis of anorexia eating disorder, which helps to increase the sense of control over uncertainty, has increased. In addition, anxiety about uncontrolled eating and weight gain has been detected more in girls. (Cihanyurdu, İlbasmış, Aksoy, Unver, and Rodopman, (2021).
Parents' attitudes towards feeding their children; The consequences of their behavior, such as force-feeding or prohibiting the intake of certain foods, may put children at risk of developing an eating disorder. Especially in adolescent girls, diet is associated with processes such as weight control (Loth, MacLehose, Fulkerson, Crow, and Neumark-Sztainer, 2014).
Social Appearance Anxiety After Changing Eating Behaviors
People diagnosed with eating disorders are more sensitive to negative body image perception, negative media use, and social comparison (Yokusoğlu, 2018). In a study conducted among university students, social appearance anxiety and negative body image were found to be higher in those at risk of eating disorders. Appearance and negative mood have a negative effect on students' nutrition. In addition, the anxiety level of obese students was found to be high. Anxiety and mood disorders may pose a risk to eating disorders (Kartal and Aykut, 2019).
Weight gain during the pandemic may cause social appearance anxiety. Especially the university Students are at risk. And the adolescence processes they are in can increase their appearance anxiety. Another risk is that students' sports activities after online education from home are also restricted. The fact that changing eating habits also cause weight gain increases the social anxiety level of young people. According to a study conducted among female university students, it was found that appearance anxiety increased as a result of the change in eating habits and related weight gain during the pandemic process (Unver, 2021).
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