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Holly Shakya, an assistant professor at University of California, San Diego and colleagues analysed data from about 5,200 people with an average age of 48 over three time periods.
The study participants rated their mental and physical health on a scale of one to 4 and life satisfaction on a scale of one to 10, and reported their body mass index (BMI) numbers.
The participants also allowed the researchers to access to their Facebook data.
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These links were shown to grow over time, suggesting both that people whose health is worse may turn to Facebook and that using Facebook may make things worse, researchers said.
People’s social media use is a complex topic, and studies don’t agree on whether too much Facebook is harmful.
Previous study found that people who show off their romantic relationships on Facebook were more likely to report higher quality relationships.
However this was the case only if their affection was authentic, the researchers said.
Another study showed that accepting more friendships on Facebook was associated with living longer, but initiating friendships did not confer the same benefit.