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This paper aims to in the modern world, possessing an attractive appearance is often considered a highly valued attribute. As such, the perceptions and satisfaction with one’s body are shaped by dominant cultural norms. Adolescents, women in particular, who are heavily influenced by media representations, may tend to have a distorted body image (BI), including adopting extreme dieting methods. This study reviews the adverse effects of excessive weight loss associated with this.

The authors searched journals and the internet for relevant literature using the keywords “eating disorders”, “body image” and “weight stigma”. In the case study field, they added papers that considered “nutrition” to identify the link between dieting behaviour and nutrition. From these reviews, the authors ultimately selected 190 articles that appeared to meet their research objectives. The papers cover a range of studies published between 1995 and 2023.

Among adolescent girls and young women in their early 20s, there is a social media-driven culture of being extremely thin and petite. Weight stigma puts more pressure on them and makes strange behaviours like pro-ana syndrome a part of the culture. The authors have seen that modern BI standards leave young women vulnerable to eating disorders caused by excessive dieting.

Adolescence is a time of continuous growth, so balanced nutrition is essential. However, biased societal standards of beauty can push adolescent girls who are sensitive to external gaze into excessive dieting and make eating disorders a culture. This review provides a perspective on the behaviours that should be pursued for a healthy BI.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate not only changes in eating behavior and food security parameters of the civilian population experiencing war but also the likelihood of developing a number of eating disorders against this background.

This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in March–April 2022 using the Google Forms tool among adult residents of Ukraine. The questions included four categories: general demographic data and body mass index (BMI); the question of the most frequently consumed food groups since the beginning of the invasion; SCOFF questionnaire; and questions to assess the state of food security.

A change in eating behavior was reported by 72.3% of respondents. SCOFF screening showed two or more positive responses for 42.7% of respondents. For respondents who were not in active hostilities areas, only 25.0% reported positive results. The average pre-war BMI was within the normal range, which suggests that the majority of respondents did not have problems with food security. The study shows that 74.9% of respondents believe they have an unbalanced diet. About 40% of respondents were cutting back on meals or skipping meals, and 50% reported running out of food and not being able to restock. These facts indicate that most respondents experienced food insecurity after the invasion.

The resulting quantitative sample structure of respondents was not optimal for such studies. But taking into account the rather difficult state of the country and the conditions of the population in it, the expansion of the sample in combat areas was quite seriously limited. Therefore, the use of a limited sample should probably be considered a reasonable and practical choice for conducting research.

The results indicate deep problems with food security, a sharp change in eating behavior under the pressure of circumstances and, as a consequence, the appearance of a high probability of the development of eating disorders in the future.