Perceptions of the Body in Anorexia Nervosa

Author(s):  
P. E. Garfinkel ◽  
D. M. Garner
Keyword(s):  
1993 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 469-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clifford W. Sharp

A woman aged 58 who has been blind since the age of nine months presented with major depression and a 40 year history of an eating disorder characterized by a restriction of food intake and body disparagement. The case is additional evidence that a specifically visual body image is not essential for the development of anorexia nervosa and supports the view that the concept of body image is unnecessary and unproductive in eating disorders. Greater emphasis should be placed on attitudes and feelings toward the body, and the possibility of an eating disorder should be considered in cases of older women with an atypical presentation.


1981 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 224-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Garner

Despite much recent interest in the objective measurement of body image in anorexia nervosa, many questions remain regarding basic mechanisms responsible for the findings as well as their meaning in the disorder. It is unclear if “whole body” measures assess the same underlying phenomena as the “body part” method, and it is unclear if body image disturbances are etiologic or a byproduct of anorexia nervosa. The possible association between self-esteem and body satisfaction and the relationship of the latter variable to actual size estimation supports the hypothesis that size perception may be closely tied to satisfaction with non-physical aspects of self. Finally it must be determined if over estimation is a function of a general psychological disturbance or of a deficit of specific interest in this disorder. Despite these questions, the way in which anorexic patients see themselves as well as the cognitive and affective responses to this perception remains an interesting and potentially fruitful area of study with this disorder.


Author(s):  
Sonia Patricia Murguía-Mier ◽  
Claudia Unikel-Santoncini ◽  
Bertha Blum-Grynberg ◽  
Bertha Elvia Taracena-Ruiz
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa-Katrin Kaufmann ◽  
Hanspeter Moergeli ◽  
Gabriella Franca Milos

Background: The body mass index is a key predictor of treatment outcome in patients with anorexia nervosa. In adolescents, higher premorbid BMI is a strong predictor of a favorable treatment outcome. It is unclear whether this relationship holds true for adults with anorexia nervosa. Here, we examine adult patients with AN and investigate the lowest and highest lifetime BMI and weight suppression as predisposing factors for treatment outcome.Methods: We included 107 patients aged 17–56 with anorexia nervosa and tracked their BMI from admission to inpatient treatment, through discharge, to follow-up at 1–6 years. Illness history, including lowest and highest lifetime BMI were assessed prior to admission. We used multiple linear regression models with minimal or maximal lifetime BMI or weight suppression at admission as independent variables to predict BMI at admission, discharge and follow-up, while controlling for patients' age, sex, and duration of illness.Results: Low minimal BMI had a negative influence on the weight at admission, which in turn resulted in a lower BMI at discharge. Higher maximal BMI had a substantial positive influence on BMI at discharge and follow-up. Weight suppression was highly correlated with maximal BMI and showed similar effects to maximal BMI.Conclusion: Our findings strongly support a relationship between low minimal lifetime BMI and lower BMI at admission, and between higher maximal lifetime BMI or weight suppression and a positive treatment outcome, even years after discharge. Overall, maximal BMI emerged as the most important factor in predicting the weight course in adults with AN.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofía María MARTÍNEZ-SÁNCHEZ ◽  
Tomás Eugenio MARTÍNEZ-GARCÍA ◽  
Diego MUNGUÍA-IZQUIERDO

ABSTRACT Objective This study aimed to determine whether physical fitness is related to nutritional status in a sample of female adolescents with anorexia nervosa, to contrast the nourished and undernourished patients, and to compare the physical fitness in these patients with normative data of healthy subjects stratified by age and gender. Methods Nutritional status was determined using the body mass index Z-score, fat mass, fat-free mass (bioelectrical impedance analysis), and the Controlling Nutritional Status score in 15 anorexic adolescents with 14.3±1.6 years. Physical fitness was assessed using the ALPHA-Fitness Battery (handgrip strength, standing broad jump, 4x10m shuttle run, and 20m shuttle run tests). Results Handgrip strength was significantly associated with all variables of nutritional status, except with the three blood components of the Controlling Nutritional Status score. The undernourished anorexic patients showed significantly worse physical fitness than the nourished anorexic patients in all tests, except in the standing broad jump and the 4x10m shuttle run tests. The physical fitness tests of the female anorexic adolescents showed scores significantly worse than those of the normative European female adolescent population. Conclusion The observation of female adolescents with anorexia nervosa showed associations between higher physical fitness levels and better nutritional statuses. Handgrip strength and 20m shuttle run tests may be options of additional indicators of undernutrition in anorexic female adolescents. The undernourished anorexic patients showed worse physical fitness than the nourished ones. According to normative data for healthy sex- and agematched adolescents, physical fitness is severely impaired in anorexic female adolescents.


2010 ◽  
Vol 163 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
D J Brick ◽  
A V Gerweck ◽  
E Meenaghan ◽  
E A Lawson ◽  
M Misra ◽  
...  

ContextChronic starvation is characterized by GH resistance, and obesity is characterized by decreased GH secretion. In both extremes, IGF1 levels may be low and androgen levels may be abnormal.ObjectiveTo investigate the determinants of IGF1 and GH across the weight spectrum in women.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingClinical research center.Study participantsIn total, 32 women had participated in the study: 11 women with anorexia nervosa (AN), 11 normal-weight women, and 10 obese women of comparable mean age.InterventionNone.Main outcome measuresPooled hourly overnight serum samples assayed for IGF1, GH, estradiol (E2), testosterone, SHBG, insulin, free fatty acids, and trunk fat.ResultsFree testosterone was higher in obese women and lower in women with AN than in normal-weight women, and was the only independent (and positive) predictor of IGF1 levels, accounting for 14% of the variability (P=0.032) in the group as a whole. This relationship was stronger when obese women were excluded, with free testosterone accounting for 36% of the variability (P=0.003). Trunk fat accounted for 49% of the variability (P<0.0001) of GH, with an additional 7% of the variability attributable to E2 (P=0.042) in the group as a whole, but was not a significant determinant of GH secretion when obese women were excluded.ConclusionsFree testosterone is a significant determinant of IGF1 levels in women across the body weight spectrum. In contrast, GH secretion is differentially regulated at the extremes of the weight spectrum.


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