Brief Mindfulness Meditation Protects Chinese Young Women's Body Image from Appearance-Focused Social Media Exposure: An Online Randomized Controlled Trial.
Xiaoxiao Zhang, Zixuan Zhang
Healthcare January 4, 2026 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare14010120 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 168 |
| Population | Young Chinese women aged 18-35 |
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation |
| Dose | ten-minute audio |
| Measures | state body dissatisfaction, negative mood |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | China Xiaohongshu red Appearance-focused social media Body dissatisfaction Body image Brief intervention Mindfulness meditation Negative mood Randomized controlled trial Young women |
| Key findings | A brief mindfulness meditation intervention buffered against the negative effects of idealized social media content on body image and mood in young Chinese women. |
Abstract
Objectives: Exposure to appearance-focused social media often leads to body image disturbance among young women. One promising intervention to lessen this negative impact is mindfulness meditation. This study aimed to determine whether a brief mindfulness meditation intervention could mitigate the adverse effects of exposure to appearance-focused social media content on body image and mood in young Chinese women.
Methods: In an online randomized controlled trial, 168 women aged 18-35 years were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (n = 86) that listened to a ten-minute mindfulness meditation audio or to a control group (n = 82) that listened to a ten-minute recorded natural history text. After listening to the audio, participants viewed idealized body images on Xiaohongshu and compared themselves to these images. Outcome measures included state body dissatisfaction and negative mood. Data were collected at baseline (T0), post-intervention (T1), and post-exposure to images (T2).
Results: At T0, groups did not differ in age, BMI, education, body dissatisfaction, or negative mood (all p > 0.05). From T0 to T1, both groups showed significant improvements in body dissatisfaction and mood. The intervention group's scores decreased significantly (p = 0.008; p < 0.01), and the control group also showed significant improvements on both outcome measures (both p < 0.001). However, when exposed to the idealized images, only the intervention group maintained its improvements, with no significant change in body dissatisfaction or mood (p = 0.178 and p = 0.310, respectively) from T1 to T2, whereas the control group's scores worsened significantly on both outcome measures (p < 0.001 for both).
Conclusions: These findings suggest that even a brief mindfulness meditation intervention may buffer against the negative effects of idealized social media content on body image and mood.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cites 9
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- The Correlation Between Mindfulness, Decentering, and Psychological Problems: A Structural Equation Modeling Meta-Analysis Mindfulness July 2, 2024
- A brief mindfulness meditation can ameliorate the effects of exposure to idealised social media images on self-esteem, mood, and body appreciation in young women: An online randomised controlled experiment. Body image March 15, 2024
- Exploring the impact of a gratitude-focused meditation on body dissatisfaction: Can a brief auditory gratitude intervention protect young women against exposure to the thin ideal? Body image April 20, 2022
and 4 more in the library