Celebrities are well-known individuals who receive extensive public and media attention. There is an increasing body of research on the effect of celebrities on body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Yet, there has been no synthesis of the research findings. A systematic search for research articles on celebrities and body image or eating disorders resulted in 36 studies meeting inclusion criteria. Overall, the qualitative, correlational, big data, and experimental methodologies used in these studies demonstrated that exposure to celebrity images, appearance comparison, and celebrity worship are associated with maladaptive consequences for individuals’ body image.
AbstractBody image distortions are common in healthy individuals and a central aspect of serious clinical conditions, such as eating disorders. This commentary explores the potential implications of body image and its distortions for the insurance hypothesis. In particular, we speculate that body image may be an intervening variable mediating the relationship between perceived food scarcity and eating behavior.
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.
The protocol for positive body experience (PBE); introducing a psychomotor therapy intervention based on positive body exposure targeting negative body image in eating disorders
