Body image dissatisfaction and distortion among food service workers

Background: People manifest a growing concern with their bodies due to health-related or esthetic reasons which contributes to increase their body dissatisfaction and distortion. Objective: To analyze weight gain, body image dissatisfaction and distortion among employees of a university restaurant in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Methods: Cross-sectional study in which we analyzed the participants’ body weight, height and body mass index. Body image dissatisfaction and distortion were investigated with a figure scale. We administered a questionnaire to investigate weight gain and changes in dietary habits since starting in the job. Sample characteristics and factors related to body image dissatisfaction are described as frequencies and were compared by means of the χ2 test with software SPPS version 17.0. Results: We analyzed 46 employees (82.61% female) 63% of whom gained weight since starting in the job, 3.4 kg on average. Women reported having acquired poorer dietary habits. About 68.4% of the women and 75% of the men exhibited overweight. All the women (100%) and 50% of the men reported body image dissatisfaction and 76.3 and 50% respectively a desire to lose weight. We found a high prevalence of body image distortion, of 94.7% for the women and 100% for the men. Conclusion: Weight gain, changes in dietary habits, body image distortion and dissatisfaction point to the need for dietary and nutritional educational programs which promote healthy eating habits and changes in behavior relating to diet and body image.

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

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.