Dear Editor,

I have read with interest the recent article by Alpaslan et al. [1] on the relationship between internet addiction and disordered eating attitudes. The authors have found that abnormal eating attitude was independently associated with internet addiction. They state that no studies have been published on the relationship between internet addiction and eating attitudes among Turkish participants [1]. However, there are at least two published papers from Turkey about this topic [2, 3].

Studies investigating the association of internet addiction and disordered eating have been accumulating recently. With the present communication, I would like to add a few considerations—focusing on the relationship of internet addiction and disordered eating—based on most recent experience. The main findings of the relevant studies are presented in Table 1. According to the results of this mini-review:

Table 1 Studies evaluating the relationship of eating attitudes and internet addiction
Full size table

  • Internet addiction and abnormal eating attitudes are closely related (Canan et al. [3] have found no association).

  • This association may be more manifest in females than in males.

  • Depression may be a mediator in the relationship between internet addiction and bulimia.

Although most of the previous studies indicate an association of internet addiction with abnormal eating behaviors; the cross-sectional design of these studies hinders definite conclusions. Future prospective studies using structured or semi-structured interviews should investigate the temporal relationship of internet addiction and specific eating disorders, particularly binge eating disorder.