EXPRESS: Does physical weight alter the mental representation of the body? Evidence from motor imagery in obesity

2022 ◽  
pp. 174702182210750
Author(s):  
Federica Scarpina ◽  
Clara Paschino ◽  
Massimo Scacchi ◽  
Alessandro Mauro ◽  
Anna Sedda

Objective. Obesity is a clinical condition that impacts severely the physical body. However, evidence related to the mental representation of the body in action is scarce. The few available studies only focus on avoiding obstacles, rather than participants imagining their own body. Method. To advance knowledge in this field, we assessed the performance of twenty-two individuals with obesity compared to thirty individuals with a healthy weight in two tasks that implied different motor (more implicit vs. more explicit) imagery strategies. Two tasks were also administered to control for visual imagery skills, to rule out confounding factors. Moreover, we measured body uneasiness, through a standard questionnaire, as body image negativity could impact on other body representation components. Results. Our findings do not show differences in the motor imagery tasks between individuals with obesity and individuals with healthy weight. On the other hand, some differences emerge in visual imagery skills. Crucially, individuals with obesity did report a higher level of body uneasiness. Conclusions. Despite a negative body image and visual imagery differences, obesity per se does not impact on the representation of the body in action. Importantly, this result is independent from the level of awareness required to access the mental representation of the body.

Perception ◽  
10.1068/p5853 ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 36 (10) ◽  
pp. 1547-1554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Pavani ◽  
Massimiliano Zampini

When a hand (either real or fake) is stimulated in synchrony with our own hand concealed from view, the felt position of our own hand can be biased toward the location of the seen hand. This intriguing phenomenon relies on the brain's ability to detect statistical correlations in the multisensory inputs (ie visual, tactile, and proprioceptive), but it is also modulated by the pre-existing representation of one's own body. Nonetheless, researchers appear to have accepted the assumption that the size of the seen hand does not matter for this illusion to occur. Here we used a real-time video image of the participant's own hand to elicit the illusion, but we varied the hand size in the video image so that the seen hand was either reduced, veridical, or enlarged in comparison to the participant's own hand. The results showed that visible-hand size modulated the illusion, which was present for veridical and enlarged images of the hand, but absent when the visible hand was reduced. These findings indicate that very specific aspects of our own body image (ie hand size) can constrain the multisensory modulation of the body schema highlighted by the fake-hand illusion paradigm. In addition, they suggest an asymmetric tendency to acknowledge enlarged (but not reduced) images of body parts within our body representation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 930-940 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheeba Saghir ◽  
Lynda Hyland

This study examined the role of media influence and immigration on body image among Pakistani men. Attitudes toward the body were compared between those living in Pakistan ( n = 56) and those who had immigrated to the United Arab Emirates ( n = 58). Results of a factorial analysis of variance demonstrated a significant main effect of immigrant status. Pakistani men living in the United Arab Emirates displayed poorer body image than those in the Pakistan sample. Results also indicated a second main effect of media influence.Those highly influenced by the media displayed poorer body image. No interaction effect was observed between immigrant status and media influence on body image. These findings suggest that media influence and immigration are among important risk factors for the development of negative body image among non-Western men. Interventions designed to address the negative effects of the media and immigration may be effective at reducing body image disorders and other related health problems in this population.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Alysha David

Individuals with higher body weight are at a greater risk of having negative body image (Friedman & Brownell, 1995). Yet current body image interventions, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), are largely tested with individuals with normal weight or individuals with eating disorders. Furthermore, cognitive restructuring, one of the key components of CBT for body image (Alleva et al., 2015), relies on the assumption that negative cognitions or appraisals regarding the body are unbalanced or distorted in some way. However, people with higher body weight are 50% more likely to experience major discrimination based on their weight status and thus may possess some “evidence” from lived experience of weight bias that would lend support to their negative body-related thoughts (Puhl & Brownell, 2001; 2006). The use of compassion-focused approaches might be particularly helpful in overcoming these obstacles. Self-compassion refers to the capacity for mindfully reflecting on one’s own perceived flaws, mistakes, or wrongdoings with kindness and with an appreciation for the inherent imperfection in everyone (Neff, 2013). The present study tested the impact of various thinking strategies for managing negative body image in women with higher body weight after getting on the scale, a commonly distressing body image trigger (Ogden & Evans, 1996). Participants (N = 79) were recruited from the community and screened for moderate body dissatisfaction. They were randomly assigned to receive a single training session in cognitive restructuring (CR), self-compassion (SC), or distraction (Control) strategies after being weighed. Participants in all three of the groups reported improvements in body dissatisfaction and negative affect immediately following the training. Relative to those in the Control group, those participants who received training in CR or SC strategies reported greater improvements in body image, body image flexibility, self-compassion, and cognitive distortions one week after the training. These findings suggest that CR and SC strategies may be helpful in improving the distress associated with being weighed among women with higher body weight. The results may have broader implications for the development of psychosocial interventions focused on improving body image among these individuals.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. e0247651
Author(s):  
Nicole Doria ◽  
Matthew Numer

Eating disorders among adolescent girls are a public health concern. Adolescent girls that participate in aesthetic sport, such as dance, are of particular concern as they experience the highest rates of clinical eating disorders. The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of young girls in the world of competitive dance and examine how these experiences shape their relationship with the body; feminist poststructural discourse analysis was employed to critically explore this relationship. Interviews were conducted across Canada with twelve young girls in competitive dance (14–18 years of age) to better understand how the dominant discourses in the world of competitive dance constitute the beliefs, values and practices about body and body image. Environment, parents, coaches, and peers emerged as the largest influencers in shaping the young dancers’ relationship with their body. These influencers were found to generate and perpetuate body image discourses that reinforce the ideal dancer’s body and negative body image.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhang Liang ◽  
Shen Lingting ◽  
Cai Ying ◽  
Liu Xiaoyan ◽  
Zhang Yan ◽  
...  

Objectives: According to traditional views, perfectionists are prone to experience shame and guilt. As a relative part of negative body image, body appreciation reflects an appreciation attitude toward physical characteristics, functionality, and health, accepting and appreciating all parts and functions of the body, predicting body-related shame and guilt.Methods: Therefore, body appreciation was examined for its potential mediating role in the relationship between two dimensions of perfectionism (e.g., healthy perfectionism and unhealthy perfectionism) and body-related shame and body-related guilt among 514 females.Results: The results highlight that body appreciation partially mediated the relationship between perfectionism and body-related shame and body-related guilt. Implications for enhancing body appreciation among females between experiencing healthy or unhealthy perfectionism and body-related shame and body-related guilt feelings are discussed.Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of considering body appreciation in addressing perfectionism dimensions and body-related shame and body-related guilt. Research and clinical implications are also addressed.


Author(s):  
Jeffrey J. Martin

It has often been wrongly assumed that people with disabilities have poor body image. The purpose of this chapter is to review the body image research involving individuals with impairments and investigating if they are dissatisfied with their appearance. People with disabilities such as cerebral palsy, blindness, and amputations are all very different, and their impairments are likely to differ in many other respects that can play a role in body image self-perceptions. The lack of unanimity across the research reviewed here suggests that disability type, disability severity, visibility, duration, congenital versus acquired factors, age, gender, ethnicity, social support, and self-efficacy are all important considerations that can moderate and mediate the link between disability and body image. Researchers are urged to use theory to guide their research and to consider nontraditional approaches to the study of body image. For instance, researchers studying positive body image understand that this does not comprise simply the absence of negative body image cognitions and have examined the role of body appreciation and body acceptance.


2005 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcella E. Campbell

To investigate response to an imagined negative body image, a sample of 29 men from an undergraduate university were given the Body Image Affect Scale of Campbell and Chow. Analysis showed more men, if they are experiencing a poor appearance, would try to cover up physical flaws and avoid approaching an individual in whom they were interested.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 1330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scarpina ◽  
Serino ◽  
Keizer ◽  
Chirico ◽  
Scacchi ◽  
...  

Background. The effective illusory ownership over an artificial body in modulating body representations in healthy and eating disorders population has been repeatedly reported in recent literature. In this study, we extended this research in the field of obesity: specifically, we investigated whether ownership over a virtual body with a skinny abdomen might be successfully experienced by participants affected by obesity. Methods. Fifteen participants with obesity and fifteen healthy-weight participants took part at this study in which the VR-Full-Body Illusion was adopted. The strength of illusion was investigated through the traditional Embodiment Questionnaire, while changes in bodily experience were measured through a body size estimation task. Results. Participants with obesity as well as healthy-weight participants reported to experience the illusion. About the body size estimation task, both groups reported changes only in the estimation of the abdomen’s circumference after the experimental condition, in absence of any another difference. Discussion. Participants with obesity reported to experience the illusion over a skinny avatar, but the modulation of the bodily experience seems controversial. Future lines of research exploiting this technique for modulating body representations in obesity, specifically in terms of potential therapeutic use, were discussed.


2000 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 539-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcella E. Campbell ◽  
Peter Chow

A new body-image questionnaire was developed to measure the affect associated with a negative body image. Responses showed a Cronbach coefficient alpha of .84 and a negative correlation of −.21 with using humor in times of stress.


2001 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 507-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cora Weber ◽  
Ekkehard Bronner ◽  
Pia Thier ◽  
Frank Schoeneich ◽  
Otto Walter ◽  
...  

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