Body Image Disturbance in Anorexia Nervosa: Beyond Body Image*

1989 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 898-905 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aïda Warah
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Cognitive Disorder ◽  
Body Image Disturbance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Size Estimation ◽  
Image Perception ◽  
Body Image Perception ◽  
Body Size Estimation

In this paper the literature on body image disturbance in anorexic patients is reviewed. After a decade of experimental investigation of body image in anorexia nervosa, where old and new techniques have been used and where a large number of correlations have been identified, what do we really know? The findings have been conflicting but some regularities exist. It is hypothesized that the conflicting results may be related to the presence of different subgroups among anorexics and different types of body image disturbance. Body size estimation is only one dimension of body image perception. likewise, body size overestimation is only one aspect of body image perception. Likewise, body size over-estimation is only one aspect of body image disturbance. Some, but not all anorexics, overestimate their body size, and those who do, seem to have poor prognosis. Body size overestimation is not confined to anorexics. It is not known whether it is a function of a general perceptual/cognitive disorder, but it does seem to be stable over time. The implications of the presence of other psychiatric conditions in anorexic patients are discussed and suggestions for future research and for practice are made.

Body-Size Estimation in Anorexia Nervosa

1995 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Molinari
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Body Size ◽  
The Body ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Size Estimation ◽  
Image Perception ◽  
Pelvic Area ◽  
Body Size Estimation ◽  
Different Parts

The aim was to explore the body-image perception of a group of 20 hospitalised anorexic patients, aged 18 to 21 years, undergoing a period of treatment. The instrument used was the Askevold nonverbal perception test as modified by Allamani and colleagues in 1978 to assess perception of the dimensions of different parts of the body by exploiting the capacity to project them into space. The four parts were the head, the thoracic area, the abdominal area, and the pelvic area. Analysis of responses indicated that anorexic patients overestimated the abdominal and the pelvic areas much more than the 20 members of the control group (50% vs 30%). The areas of the head and thorax were perceived almost in their real dimensions by the anorexic patients but were underestimated by the control group.

scholarly journals Assessing body image in anorexia nervosa using biometric self-avatars in virtual reality: Attitudinal components rather than visual body size estimation are distorted

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 642-653 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. Mölbert ◽  
A. Thaler ◽  
B. J. Mohler ◽  
S. Streuber ◽  
J. Romero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Body Weight ◽  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Normal Weight ◽  
Body Image Disturbance ◽  
Size Estimation ◽  
Eating Disorder Symptoms ◽  
Body Size Estimation

BackgroundBody image disturbance (BID) is a core symptom of anorexia nervosa (AN), but as yet distinctive features of BID are unknown. The present study aimed at disentangling perceptual and attitudinal components of BID in AN.MethodsWe investigated n = 24 women with AN and n = 24 controls. Based on a three-dimensional (3D) body scan, we created realistic virtual 3D bodies (avatars) for each participant that were varied through a range of ±20% of the participants’ weights. Avatars were presented in a virtual reality mirror scenario. Using different psychophysical tasks, participants identified and adjusted their actual and their desired body weight. To test for general perceptual biases in estimating body weight, a second experiment investigated perception of weight and shape matched avatars with another identity.ResultsWomen with AN and controls underestimated their weight, with a trend that women with AN underestimated more. The average desired body of controls had normal weight while the average desired weight of women with AN corresponded to extreme AN (DSM-5). Correlation analyses revealed that desired body weight, but not accuracy of weight estimation, was associated with eating disorder symptoms. In the second experiment, both groups estimated accurately while the most attractive body was similar to Experiment 1.ConclusionsOur results contradict the widespread assumption that patients with AN overestimate their body weight due to visual distortions. Rather, they illustrate that BID might be driven by distorted attitudes with regard to the desired body. Clinical interventions should aim at helping patients with AN to change their desired weight.

Body Image Distortion in Bulimia Nervosa

1985 ◽  
Vol 147 (4) ◽  
pp. 408-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra A. Birtchnell ◽  
J. Hubert Lacey ◽  
Anne Harte
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Previous History ◽  
The Body ◽  
Size Estimation ◽  
Image Perception ◽  
Body Width ◽  
Duration Of Illness ◽  
Body Size Estimation ◽  
Visual Size

Body image perception was measured in 50 women with bulima nervosa and 19 age and weight matched female controls, using a visual size estimation apparatus. Both groups overestimated body widths, but not the width of a neutral object, and whilst there was a trend for bulimics to overestimate more than controls this did not reach significance. The part of the body most overestimated corresponded to the part most disliked in only a third of both groups. The bulimics without a previous history of anorexia nervosa overestimated body width more than those with such a history; this may be related to the fact that the former had a significantly greater weight index. Bulimics who were within 5% of mean-matched population weight overestimated body width less than the others, this difference reaching significance when compared with the heavier groups; a similar, but non-significant, trend was demonstrated in controls. This may be linked to a greater dissatisfaction with body size. Duration of illness, frequency of bingeing and self-induced vomiting were not shown significantly to alter body size estimation. The bulimics who completed a 10-session outpatient treatment programme subsequently demonstrated a significant decrease in overestimation of waist and hip width.

Körperbild bei Magersucht - Wahrnehmung ist nicht gestört

2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (02) ◽  
pp. 54-54
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Size Estimation ◽  
Affektive Störung ◽  
Body Size Estimation

Mölbert SC et al. Assessing body image in anorexia nervosa using biometric self-avatars in virtual reality: Attitudinal components rather than visual body size estimation are distorted. Psychol Med 2017 Jul 26; 1–12 Ein gestörtes Körperbild ist ein Schlüsselsymptom bei Magersucht. Haben Magersüchtige eine verzerrte Wahrnehmung? Oder liegt hier eine affektive Störung vor? Eine Tübinger Arbeitsgruppe hat sich das Phänomen genauer angeschaut.

Body Image in Anorexia Nervosa: Body Size Estimation Utilising a Biological Motion Task and Eyetracking

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Phillipou ◽  
Susan Lee Rossell ◽  
Caroline Gurvich ◽  
David Jonathan Castle ◽  
Nikolaus Friedrich Troje ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Biological Motion ◽  
Size Estimation ◽  
Body Size Estimation

scholarly journals Characterizing Body Image Distortion and Bodily Self-Plasticity in Anorexia Nervosa via Visuo-Tactile Stimulation in Virtual Reality

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Provenzano ◽  
Giuseppina Porciello ◽  
Sofia Ciccarone ◽  
Bigna Lenggenhager ◽  
Gaetano Tieri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Image ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Body Dissatisfaction ◽  
Image Distortion ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Body Image Distortion ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
Original Weight

We combined virtual reality and multisensory bodily illusion with the aim to characterize and reduce the perceptual (body overestimation) and the cognitive-emotional (body dissatisfaction) components of body image distortion (BID) in anorexia nervosa (AN). For each participant (20 anorexics, 20 healthy controls) we built personalized avatars that reproduced their own body size, shape, and verisimilar increases and losses of their original weight. Body overestimation and dissatisfaction were measured by asking participants to choose the avatar that best resembled their real and ideal body. Results show higher body dissatisfaction in AN, caused by the desire of a thinner body, and no body-size overestimation. Interpersonal multisensory stimulation (IMS) was then applied on the avatar reproducing participant’s perceived body, and on the two avatars which reproduced increases and losses of 15% of it, all presented with a first-person perspective (1PP). Embodiment was stronger after synchronous IMS in both groups, but did not reduce BID in participants with AN. Interestingly, anorexics reported more negative emotions after embodying the fattest avatar, which scaled with symptoms severity. Overall, our findings suggest that the cognitive-emotional, more than the perceptual component of BID is severely altered in AN and that perspective (1PP vs. 3PP) from which a body is evaluated may play a crucial role. Future research and clinical trials might take advantage of virtual reality to reduce the emotional distress related to body dissatisfaction.

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