IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/socpsy/v71y2025i1p109-115.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Prevalence of disturbance of body image perception and engagement in risky behaviors for eating disorders motivated by the Korean wave

Author

Listed:
  • Valentina Belalcazar Vivas

Abstract

Background: the global expansion of the Korean wave (hallyu) has led to the idealization of Korean beauty standards among fans. Celebrities share extreme diets and exercise routines through social media that help them lose weight and adhere to this standard, which has been shown in some studies conducted in Asia to significantly influence negative body image perception and risk for eating disorders. Aim: to describe the prevalence of disturbance of body image perception and engagement in risky behaviors for eating disorders among Spanish-speaking fans residing in Western countries, motivated by the Korean wave. Method: this cross-sectional and descriptive study employed a quantitative method for data collection. The data were collected through an anonymous online survey created by the author on the Google Forms platform; the survey included demographic questions, information about exposure to hallyu, body perception, body image perception disturbance and engagement in risky behaviors motivated by the Korean wave. A total of 121 participants were recruited to answer through social network X Prevalence was then calculated for each category. Results: a total of 67.8% of the participants reported comparing their bodies to those of Korean celebrities, and 53.7% experienced a disturbance in their body image perception after exposure to hallyu. Risk behaviors related to exercise were more prevalent among participants than were those related to eating. The majority of participants engaging in these behaviors were females aged 18 years or younger. Conclusion: disturbance of the body image perception and engagement in risky behaviors for EDs motivated by the Korean wave are prevalent among its fans, especially female adolescents. More research is needed to understand the extent of this influence on body image perception and the risk of ED, which have a negative impact on physical and mental health.

Suggested Citation

  • Valentina Belalcazar Vivas, 2025. "Prevalence of disturbance of body image perception and engagement in risky behaviors for eating disorders motivated by the Korean wave," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 71(1), pages 109-115, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:71:y:2025:i:1:p:109-115
    DOI: 10.1177/00207640241280719
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00207640241280719
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/00207640241280719?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:socpsy:v:71:y:2025:i:1:p:109-115. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.