Body image disturbance | |
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Specialty | Psychiatry, psychology |
Symptoms | Altered body self-perception, body uneasiness, body dissatisfaction, body-checking behavior |
Complications | Eating disorders |
Usual onset | Early adolescence |
Risk factors | Body dissatisfaction, childhood neglect, childhood abuse |
Diagnostic method | EDI-3, body uneasiness test, clinical diagnosis, Visual Size Estimation Task, 3D Morphing |
Differential diagnosis | Body dysmorphic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder |
Prevention | Positive body image, good self-esteem, healthy eating behaviors |
Treatment | Psychotherapy Psychiatric rehabilitation |
Body image disturbance (BID) is a common symptom in patients with eating disorders and is characterized by an altered perception of one's own body.
The onset is mainly attributed to patients with anorexia nervosa who persistently tend to subjectively discern themselves as average or overweight despite adequate, clinical grounds for a classification of being considerably or severely underweight. [1] The symptom is an altered perception of one's body and a severe state of bodily dissatisfaction characterizing the body image disturbance. It is included among the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa in DSM-5 (criterion C). [2]
The disturbance is associated with significant bodily dissatisfaction and is a source of severe distress, often persisting even after seeking treatment for an eating disorder, [3] [4] and is regarded as difficult to treat. [3] [5] Thus, effective body image interventions could improve the prognosis of patients with ED, as experts have suggested. [6] However, there is no hard evidence that current treatments for body image disturbance effectively reduce eating disorder symptoms. [7] [8] Furthermore, pharmacotherapy is ineffective in reducing body misperception and it has been used to focus on correlated psychopathology (e.g., mood or anxiety disorders). [9] However, to date, research and clinicians are developing new therapies such as virtual reality experiences, [10] [11] mirror exposure, [12] or multisensory integration body techniques, [13] [14] [5] which have shown some extent of efficacy.
The scientific study of bodily experiences began at the end of the 19th century. German physiologist Hermann Munk was the first to suggest the existence of a cortical representation of the body, supported by his vivisection experiments on the parietal cortex of dogs. [15] A few years later, Carl Wernicke hypothesized a cortical map capable of collecting and processing sensory inputs from every point of the body. [16] In 1905 Bonnier introduced the term body schema, [17] defining it as the mental representation of the body necessary for the brain to perceive objects near, far, or within the body itself.
Bonnier also described three different partial body pattern alterations, hyperschématie (French; 'an overestimation of body size'), hyposchématie ('an underestimation of body size'), and paraschématie ('a displacement of body parts including internal organs'). Head and Holmes in 1911 expanded the concept of a body schema, introducing the concepts of postural schema and surface schema. They described a patient who could locate the stimuli applied to her body but could not locate her hand in space. [18] They also defined the difference between schema and image. The schema defined as an unconscious representation necessary for movement and localization in space, and the "image" as a conscious body perception.
Therefore, in the history of medicine, distortions in the perception of one's body have mainly occurred in patients with neurological damage or with amputated limbs and a consequence of phantom limb syndrome. [19] In the psychiatric field, the first systematic descriptions of bodily altered perception are already present in Schneider's classification of symptoms of schizophrenia [20] in 1959. The German-American psychiatrist Hilde Bruch was the first physician to describe body image disturbance in eating disorders accurately. [21]
Hilde Bruch first identified and described body image disturbance in anorexia nervosa. [21] In her article "Perceptual and Conceptual Disturbances in Anorexia Nervosa" [6] she wrote:
What is pathognomic of anorexia is not the severity of the malnutrition per se—equally severe degrees are seen in other malnourished psychiatric patients—but rather the distortion of body image associated with it: the absence of concern about emaciation, even when advanced, and the vigor and stubbornness with which the often gruesome appearance is defended as normal and right, not too thin, and as the only possible security against the dreaded fate of becoming fat. [6]
— Hilde Bruch, Perceptual and Conceptual Disturbances in Anorexia Nervosa, Psychosomatic Medicine, 1962
Body image disturbance is not specific to anorexia nervosa, as it is sometimes present in other eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa [22] and binge eating disorder. [23] Studies published in 2019 on Cortex have shown that it is possible to observe alterations in the perception of one's body in healthy subjects. A slightly altered perception of the body is a normal part of everyone's life and manifests itself more intensely in more vulnerable individuals (e.g., patients with eating disorders). [24] Commonly, body image disturbance is confused with body dysmorphic disorder, an obsessive-compulsive disorder with which it shares some features. [25]
Body image disturbance is a multifaceted construct including both perceptual and attitudinal issues. Some of the more common signs are:
Clinically speaking, a growing body of research suggests that body image disturbance plays a significant role in the onset, [32] maintenance, [33] [34] and relapse of anorexia nervosa, [35] as previously suggested by Bruch in 1962. [6] However, despite increasing evidence, a review by Glashouwer in 2019 stated that the available empirical data are still insufficient and "provide no basis to answer the question whether body image disturbance is a (causal) risk factor for anorexia nervosa". [36] As suggested by the author, this lack of evidence is partly related to terminology problems used in the body image field. [37]
Body image disorder is a characteristic symptom of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. In both of these disorders, an excessive focus on body shapes and sizes made the body image disturbance easier to identify, to describe, and study. [3] [1] Much less is known about the disorder in patients with binge eating disorder. [23]
As early as 1993, Spitzer compared obese individuals with and without binge eating disorder (BED) and found that those with BED were more frequently concerned about body shape and weight. [38] Additionally, binge eating disorder patients show more significant concerns about weight and body shape, [39] more intense body dissatisfaction, [40] and more frequent avoidance and body checking behaviors. [41] On the other hand, few studies have investigated the altered body perception in patients with binge eating disorder [42] and the results are conflicting. Some patients tend to overestimate their body shapes, in others, they do not. [43] In some cases the perceptual disturbance manifests itself in a paradoxical way, with an underestimation of the real body shapes and sizes. This difference suggests different phenotypes in binge spectrum; hence, a perceptual disturbance can be considered an aggravation of the binge eating disorder, as claimed by Lewer and colleagues in 2017. [42]
There are no reliable epidemiological data in the literature for body image disturbance.
There are numerous challenges with diagnosis, the most relevant of which is the unclear definition of body image disturbance within official diagnostic manuals such as the DSM and the ICD, [44] [45] which prevents its identification in the population. Further, there are challenges with diagnostic tools, both for recognition and screening. The altered perception of the body can only be measured through behavioral tasks delivered individually (See section below). It cannot be measured with questionnaires, or other tools typically used for broad-spectrum investigations.
As it is not always present in eating disorders, its prevalence is not comparable to that of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder, and cannot be inferred from them. A negative body image may also be present in other psychiatric conditions such as PTSD, major depression, and body dysmorphic disorder. [46] Taken together this data suggests the possible presence of perceptual disturbances in other pathological conditions not directly related to eating disorders. Therefore, the presence of a body image disturbance in other psychiatric diseases remains speculation, not yet supported by sufficient literature data, as suggested by Scheffers. [46]
Different labels are used in research and clinical settings to describe body image disturbance, generating terminological confusion. Among the most used terms are body image discrepancy, [47] body image self-discrepancy, [48] body image distortion, [1] disturbed body image, [49] disturbances in body estimations, [50] body image disturbance, [51] and negative body image. [52] Sometimes, the term body dissatisfaction is also used to refer to body image disturbance indiscriminately. [53] Moreover, the DSM-5 defines this symptom vaguely: "a disturbance in the way one's body weight or shape is experienced". [2] The lack of a clear definition is problematic from both a clinical and basic research point of view. [1] [54] [5]
Despite the terminological problems, during the early 2000s numerous scholars agree that body image disturbance is a multidimensional symptom of various components associated with body image. [55] [3] [13] [5] [56] Body image is a concept formed by the interaction of four body-related components: cognitive, affective, behavioral, and perceptual.
In people with body image disturbance all of these components are altered at the same time. [5]
In 2021, Artoni et al proposed a clearer definition of body image disturbance as part of a study in Eating and Weight Disorders . [5] The authors suggested using the term bodily dissatisfaction when there are alterations in either the affective, cognitive, or behavioral components of body image and strictly reserving the term body image disturbance only when all four components are altered, including perception. In short, they define body image disturbance as the presence of an altered perception of the shape and weight of one's body, which aggravates body dissatisfaction. The term is consistent with the DSM-5 description "a disturbance in the way weight and body shapes are experienced" [2] and it is therefore "preferable to others". [5]
Patients with body image disturbance exhibit an alteration in how the body's image is stored in their memory—the conscious representation of their bodies. This representation is from a third-person, perspective, more precisely an allocentric representation of the body. [59] This representation is evoked in self-image tasks, such as comparing one's body with others or drawing one's body shapes. However, patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa frequently perceive their body as larger than it is in reality. [60]
Patients with anorexia nervosa have negative thoughts about their body, such as "I'm too fat," "I'm ugly," and other negative body-related thoughts. [61] In some cases, however, the ideal internalized body is indicative of unhealthy thinness (e.g., a body without female shapes or one that communicates suffering). An unhealthy body shape could be a critical maintenance factor, generating more attention from family members, reducing the requests and expectations of others, [62] and minimizing sexual attractiveness (especially in patients with sexual trauma). [63]
Affective components of body image are the feelings and emotions experienced towards one's body. Body dissatisfaction is frequently present in those with body image disturbance, [1] sometimes related to anxiety [64] and shame [65] when the body is exposed or gazed at in a mirror. In some cases, anger and feelings of aggression towards one's body are reported. [66] Fear is associated with thoughts of getting fat. [66]
Congruent with the self-objectification theory, people with body image disturbance frequently experience the body only as an object to be modified rather than as a subject to take care of. [67]
The behavioral component of body image disturbance includes different body-checking behaviors [68] such as repeatedly weighing during the day, spending significant time in front of the mirror or avoiding it, frequently taking selfies, checking parts of the body with hands (e.g. measuring the circumference of the wrists, arms, thighs, belly or hips). Other behaviors include avoiding situations in which the body is exposed (for example, when swimming), and wearing very loose and covering clothes. [69] More generally, avoidance of bodily sensations, particularly the interoceptive ones, is reported. [70]
In body image disturbance, several perceptual domains are altered. Visual perception is the most studied, [71] [72] [73] but research has found misperceptions in other sensory domains such as haptic, [74] tactile, [75] and affective-touch. [76] Also, the body schema is overextended. [77] [ clarification needed ] Some research suggested that this is related to a general enlarged mental representation of body size. [78] A 2017 study published in a companion journal to Nature [4] highlighted how perceptual disturbance is present in those recovered from anorexia nervosa even without affective-cognitive body concerns. Finally, interoception, the sense of the current state of the body, [79] is problematic in those with eating disorders. [80] [ clarification needed ]
The age of onset for body image disturbance is often early adolescence, [81] the age in which one's comparison to their peers becomes more significant and leads to a greater sensitivity towards criticism of, or teasing about, one's physical appearance. Furthermore, puberty leads to rapid changes in body size and shape that need to be integrated into one's body image. [82] For this reason, adolescence is considered a critical age, with a greater vulnerability to internalizing ideals of thinness, [83] which may ultimately lead to the development of body dissatisfaction, body image disturbance, [81] or eating disorders. [84] In a 2019 review, Sattler and colleagues analyzed eight on-topic studies. The authors found that most adolescents with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa already had body-checking behaviors, negative body-related emotions and feelings, low body satisfaction, and an altered estimate of their body size compared to healthy controls. [81] Unfortunately, exactly how one passes from initial dissatisfaction with one's body to actual perceptual disorder is still unknown despite its clinical importance. [85] The etiopathogenesis is still unknown and the subject of hypotheses in the clinical and neuroscientific fields. [86] [70]
Body dissatisfaction and body image disturbance are closely related. Personal, interpersonal, cultural, social, and ethnic variables largely influence bodily dissatisfaction, [87] influencing the emergence of painful feelings towards one's body. In addition, social pressure is considered a risk factor for body dissatisfaction. For example, the frequent presence on media of thin female bodies determines, especially in young girls, a daily comparison between their bodies and models and actresses favoring bodily dissatisfaction; [88] comparing an "ideal" and "real" body feed an intense dissatisfaction with one's body and increases the feeling of shame, disgust, and anxiety towards the one's body and appearance. [89]
Dissatisfaction with one's body involves only three of the four components of the body image. Those with bodily dissatisfaction can have negative thoughts about one's body (e.g., "I'm ugly" or "I'm too short"). In addition, they may have behaviors related to bodily dissatisfaction (e.g., going on a diet or resorting to cosmetic surgery [90] [91] ) . They may also have negative feelings of dissatisfaction with their body and be ashamed of showing it in public. [87] However, all these aspects are not enough to define it as a body image disturbance. In fact, there is no perceptual alteration of one's body. Thus, "body image disturbance" cannot be used interchangeably with "body dissatisfaction", but they are closely related. [92]
Body image disturbance in anorexia and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) are similar psychiatric conditions that both involve an altered perception of the body or parts of it but are not the same disorder. [25] Body image disturbance is a symptom of anorexia nervosa (AN) and is present as criterion C in the DSM-5, [2] and alters the perception of weight and shapes of the whole body. Patients with anorexia nervosa believe that they are overweight, perceive their body as being "fat" and misperceive their body's shape. [93] Body dysmorphic disorder, meanwhile, is an obsessive-compulsive disorder characterized by disproportionate concern for minimal or absent individual bodily flaws, which cause personal distress and social impairment [94] —patients with body dysmorphic disorder are concerned about physical details, mainly the face, skin, and nose. [95] Thus, both anorexia nervosa and body dysmorphic disorder manifest significant disturbances in body image but are different and highly comorbid. [25] For example, Grant et al reported that 39% of AN patients in their sample had a comorbid diagnosis of body dysmorphic disorder, with concerns unrelated to weight. [96] Cerea et al reported that 26% of their AN sample had a probable BDD diagnosis with non-weight-related body concerns. [97]
While a 2019 review by Phillipou et al in Psychiatry Research suggested that the two disorders could be taken together as "body image disturbances", plural, more in-depth studies are needed to confirm this new classification hypothesis. [25]
Previous studies found that both BDD and eating disorder groups were similar in body dissatisfaction, body checking, body concerns, [98] and levels of perfectionism. [99] Furthermore, both BDD and AN patients report higher intensities of negative emotions, lower intensities of positive emotions, [31] lower self-esteem, and anxiety symptoms. [99] Moreover, research find severe concerns about one's appearance, leading to a continuous confrontation with others' bodies in both diseases. [99] In addition, body image disturbances and body dysmorphic disorder generally onset during adolescence. Finally, alterations in visual processes seems to be present in both disorders, with greater attention to detail, but with greater difficulty in perceiving stimuli holistically. [100] Indeed, neurophysiology and neuroimaging research suggests similarities between BDD and AN patients in terms of abnormalities in visuospatial processing. [101] [102]
Despite many similarities, the two disorders also have significant differences. [103] The first is gender distribution. Body image disturbance is much more present in females, [104] unlike BDD, which has a much less unbalanced incidence. [105] Furthermore, those with dysmorphophobia tend to have more significant inhibitions and avoidance of social activities than those with anorexia nervosa. [98] Differences are self-evident when considering the focus of physical concerns and misperception in AN and BDD. BDD patients report concerns and misperception in specific body areas (mainly face, skin, and hair). [106] In patients with AN, the altered perception could involve the arms, shoulders, thighs, abdomen, hips, and breasts, and concerns are about overall body shape and weight; [103] thus leading to an alteration of the entire explicit (body image) [1] and implicit (body schema) [107] mental representation of the body. [108] Furthermore, in anorexia nervosa, not only is visual perception of one's body altered, but both tactile [75] and interoceptive perception are as well. [76] [80]
Body image disturbance is not yet clearly defined by official disease classifications. However, it appears in the DSM-5 under criterion C for anorexia nervosa and is vaguely described as "a disturbance in the way weight and body shapes are experienced". As a result, diagnosis is usually based on reported signs and symptoms; there are still no biological markers for body image disturbance. Numerous psychometric instruments to measure the cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of one's body image are used in clinical and research settings, helping in assessing the body image's attitudinal components. Recently, research developed other instruments to measure the perceptive component.
The perception of one's body is a multi-sensory process that integrates information deriving from different sensory cortices, including the visual, proprioceptive, tactile, interoceptive, and auditory-vestibular areas. [115] All of these areas are involved in the perception of one's body. An important component is the premotor cortex (PMC) and the intraparietal sulcus. These two areas are active during illusory hand perception tasks in both hemispheres. [116]
The somatosensory areas are also involved, in particular the primary somatosensory cortex (S1). An important area is the extrastriate body area located rostrocaudally in the occipital lobe and is specific to human bodies perception. Two other areas of considerable importance in the perception of the body are the insula and the anterior cingulate cortex. [117] The insular cortex is fundamental in the direct perception and integration of bodily signals from different cortical areas [79] and, despite being an area historically delegated to the sole function of perceiving the state of internal organs as proposed by Sherrington in 1911, [118] research advances demonstrate the central role of the insula in several domains, including the recognition that one's body belongs to us. [117] Namely the "body ownership". [119] [120]
fMRI studies examining brain responses in anorexia nervosa patients to paradigms that include body image tasks have found altered activation across different brain areas, including the prefrontal cortex, precuneus, parietal cortex, insula, amygdala, ventral striatum, extrastriate body area, and fusiform gyrus. [121] However, as Janet Treasure commented, "the research [in the field] is fragmented, and the mechanism of how these areas map onto the functional networks described above needs further study ... the mechanism by which the extremes of body distortion are driven and [their] circuitry is not known yet." [1]
The Body Project [122] is an eating disorder prevention program within a dissonant-cognitive framework. The program provides a forum for high school girls and college-age women to confront unrealistic-looking ideals and develop a healthy body image and self-esteem. It has been repeatedly shown to effectively reduce body dissatisfaction, negative mood, unhealthy diet, and disordered eating. [123]
Historically, research and clinicians have mainly focused on body image disturbance's cognitive, affective, and behavioral components. Consequently, treatments generally target symptoms such as body checking, dysfunctional beliefs, feelings, and emotions relating to the body. One of the best-known psychotherapies in the field is CBT-E. [124] CBT-E is a cognitive-behavioral therapy that has been enhanced with particular strategies to address the psychopathology of eating disorders. These include reducing negative thoughts and worries about body weight and shape, reducing clinical perfectionism, and body-checking behavior. [125] In 2020 a review has shown that CBT-E effectively reduces core symptoms in eating disorders, including concerns about the body. Despite this, the results of CBT-E are no better than other forms of treatment. [126] A therapy of choice for eating disorders in adults has not yet been identified. [1]
Additionally, two other noteworthy body image treatments are Thomas F. Cash's "Body Image Workbook" [127] and BodyWise. [128] The former is an 8-step group treatment within a classic cognitive-behavioral framework. The latter is a psychoeducational-based treatment improved with cognitive remediation techniques to promote awareness of body image difficulties and to reduce cognitive inflexibility and body dissatisfaction.
Compared to the classic cognitive-behavioral therapeutic paradigms, since the early 2000s, new treatments for body image disturbance have been developed focusing on the disorder's perceptual component. Mirror Exposure [12] is a new cognitive-behavioral technique that aims to reduce experiential avoidance, reduce bodily dissatisfaction, and improve one's misperception of one's body. During the exposure therapy, patients are invited to observe themselves in front of a large full-length mirror. There are different types of mirror exposure: guided exposure; unguided exposure; exposure with mindfulness exercises; and cognitive dissonance-based mirror exposure. [129] [130] To date, few studies have investigated the effects of mirror exposure in patients with body image disturbance. In the International Journal of Eating Disorders , Key et al (2002) conducted a non-randomized trial in a clinical sample and compared a body image group therapy with or without mirror exposure. [131] They found a significant improvement in body dissatisfaction only in the mirror exposure therapy group. Despite the positive evidence, in 2018, a review in Clinical Psychology Review suggests that Mirror Exposure has a low-to-medium effect in reducing body image disturbance and further studies are needed to improve it. [132]
Another treatment for body image disturbance is Virtual Reality (VR) Body Swapping. VR-Body Swapping is a technique that allows generating a body illusion during a virtual reality experience. Specifically, after building a virtual avatar using 3D modeling software, it is possible to generate the illusion that the avatar's body is one's own body. The avatar is a 3D human body model that simulates the actual size of the patient and can be modified directly. Some studies have found that applying this technique to those with anorexia nervosa reduces their misperception of their bodies [56] [133] but provides, at the moment, only a short-term effect. [133]
However, other treatments have also been developed to integrate tactile, proprioceptive, and interoceptive perception into one's overall body perception. Hoop Training is a short-term 8-week intervention (10 minutes per session) designed to become aware of and reduce body misperception. During the exercise, several flexible circles of different sizes are placed in front of the patient. First, the patients indicate which of the different circles best fits the circumference of their hips. Once indicated, patients are invited to enter the circle and, raising it, underestimating whether their estimate was accurate or not. The exercise takes place until the patient identifies the correct circumference for her hips. The circle chosen initially can be compared with the one that can coincide with the actual size of the patient. Hoop Training is meant to work on the components cognitive, affective, and perceptive of body image disturbance and the first efficacy data were published in 2019. [13]
Another perceptive treatment is the Body Perception Treatment (BPT) whose first efficacy data were published in 2021. BPT is a specific group intervention for body image disturbance focused on tactile, proprioceptive, and interoceptive self-perceptions during a body-focused experience. [5] During the exercise, patients lie down on their backs in the supine position with closed eyes. Then the therapist guide patients to selectively focus attention on the different body parts in contact with the floor. In order: feet, calves, thighs, back, shoulders, hands, arms, head and the body in its entirety. In addition, patients are invited to pay attention to skin temperature, heart beat and flow of breath. The treatment is consistent with the hypothesized role of interoception in developing body image disturbance by Badoud and Tsakiris in 2017. [70]
Both Hoop Training and Body Perception Treatment showed effective results in pilot studies [13] [5] and were designed to work within a multisensory integration framework. [13] [5] However, they complement, not replace, current standard therapies for eating disorders. However, both are also novelty treatments, and the results have not been replicated in independent studies. Thus, their actual effectiveness will have to be confirmed/disconfirmed by future research. As of the end of 2021 they have not yet been replicated.
An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that adversely affect a person's physical or mental health. Types of eating disorders include binge eating disorder, where the patient eats a large amount in a short period of time; anorexia nervosa, where the person has an intense fear of gaining weight and restricts food or overexercises to manage this fear; bulimia nervosa, where individuals eat a large quantity (binging) then try to rid themselves of the food (purging); pica, where the patient eats non-food items; rumination syndrome, where the patient regurgitates undigested or minimally digested food; avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), where people have a reduced or selective food intake due to some psychological reasons; and a group of other specified feeding or eating disorders. Anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse are common among people with eating disorders. These disorders do not include obesity. People often experience comorbidity between an eating disorder and OCD. It is estimated 20–60% of patients with an ED have a history of OCD.
Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging or fasting, and excessive concern with body shape and weight. This activity aims to expel the body of calories eaten from the binging phase of the process. Binge eating refers to eating a large amount of food in a short amount of time. Purging refers to the attempts to get rid of the food consumed. This may be done by vomiting or taking laxatives.
Appetite is the desire to eat food items, usually due to hunger. Appealing foods can stimulate appetite even when hunger is absent, although appetite can be greatly reduced by satiety. Appetite exists in all higher life-forms, and serves to regulate adequate energy intake to maintain metabolic needs. It is regulated by a close interplay between the digestive tract, adipose tissue and the brain. Appetite has a relationship with every individual's behavior. Appetitive behaviour also known as approach behaviour, and consummatory behaviour, are the only processes that involve energy intake, whereas all other behaviours affect the release of energy. When stressed, appetite levels may increase and result in an increase of food intake. Decreased desire to eat is termed anorexia, while polyphagia is increased eating. Dysregulation of appetite contributes to anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, cachexia, overeating, and binge eating disorder.
Binge eating disorder (BED) is an eating disorder characterized by frequent and recurrent binge eating episodes with associated negative psychological and social problems, but without the compensatory behaviors common to bulimia nervosa, OSFED, or the binge-purge subtype of anorexia nervosa.
Binge eating is a pattern of disordered eating which consists of episodes of uncontrollable eating. It is a common symptom of eating disorders such as binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa. During such binges, a person rapidly consumes an excessive quantity of food. A diagnosis of binge eating is associated with feelings of loss of control. Binge eating disorder is also linked with being overweight and obesity.
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), also known in some contexts as dysmorphophobia, is a mental disorder defined by an overwhelming preoccupation with a perceived flaw in one's physical appearance. In BDD's delusional variant, the flaw is imagined. When an actual visible difference exists, its importance is disproportionately magnified in the mind of the individual. Whether the physical issue is real or imagined, ruminations concerning this perceived defect become pervasive and intrusive, consuming substantial mental bandwidth for extended periods each day. This excessive preoccupation not only induces severe emotional distress but also disrupts daily functioning and activities. The DSM-5 places BDD within the obsessive–compulsive spectrum, distinguishing it from disorders such as anorexia nervosa.
Muscle dysmorphia is a subtype of the obsessive mental disorder body dysmorphic disorder, but is often also grouped with eating disorders. In muscle dysmorphia, which is sometimes called "bigorexia", "megarexia", or "reverse anorexia", the delusional or exaggerated belief is that one's own body is too small, too skinny, insufficiently muscular, or insufficiently lean, although in most cases, the individual's build is normal or even exceptionally large and muscular already.
The Eating Attitudes Test, created by David Garner, is a widely used 26-item, standardized self-reported questionnaire of symptoms and concerns characteristic of eating disorders. The EAT is useful in assessing "eating disorder risk" in high school, college and other special risk samples such as athletes. EAT has been extremely effective in screening for anorexia nervosa in many populations.
Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a feeding or eating disorder in which people avoid eating certain foods, or restrict their diets to the point it ultimately results in nutritional deficiencies. This can be due to the sensory characteristics of food, such as its appearance, smell, texture, or taste; due to fear of negative consequences such as choking or vomiting; having little interest in eating or food, or a combination of these factors. People with ARFID may also be afraid of trying new foods, a fear known as food neophobia.
Diabulimia, also known as ED-DMT1 in the US or T1ED in the UK, is an eating disorder in which people with type 1 diabetes deliberately give themselves less insulin than they need or stop taking it altogether for the purpose of weight loss. Diabulimia is not recognized as a formal psychiatric diagnosis in the DSM-5. Because of this, some in the medical or psychiatric communities use the phrases "disturbed eating behavior" or "disordered eating behavior" and disordered eating (DE) are quite common in medical and psychiatric literature addressing patients who have type 1 diabetes and manipulate insulin doses to control weight along with exhibiting bulimic behavior.
Purging disorder is an eating disorder characterized by the DSM-5 as self-induced vomiting, or misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas to forcefully evacuate matter from the body. Purging disorder differs from bulimia nervosa (BN) because individuals do not consume a large amount of food before they purge. In current diagnostic systems, purging disorder is a form of other specified feeding or eating disorder. Research indicates that purging disorder, while not rare, is not as commonly found as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. This syndrome is associated with clinically significant levels of distress, and that it appears to be distinct from bulimia nervosa on measures of hunger and ability to control food intake. Some of the signs of purging disorder are frequent trips to the bathroom directly after a meal, frequent use of laxatives, and obsession over one's appearance and weight. Other signs include swollen cheeks, popped blood vessels in the eyes, and clear teeth which are all signs of excessive vomiting.
Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin.
The differential diagnoses of anorexia nervosa (AN) includes various types of medical and psychological conditions, which may be misdiagnosed as AN. In some cases, these conditions may be comorbid with AN because the misdiagnosis of AN is not uncommon. For example, a case of achalasia was misdiagnosed as AN and the patient spent two months confined to a psychiatric hospital. A reason for the differential diagnoses that surround AN arise mainly because, like other disorders, it is primarily, albeit defensively and adaptive for, the individual concerned. Anorexia Nervosa is a psychological disorder characterized by extremely reduced intake of food. People with anorexia nervosa tend to have a low self-image and an inaccurate perception of their body.
Body image is a complex construct, often used in the clinical context of describing a patient's cognitive perception of their own body. The medical concept began with the work of the Austrian neuropsychiatrist and psychoanalyst Paul Schilder, described in his book The Image and Appearance of the Human Body first published in 1935. The term “body image” was officially introduced by Schilder himself and his widely used definition is: “body image is the picture of our own body we form in our mind, that is to say the way in which the body appears to ourselves”. In research with the term “body image” we currently refer to a conscious mental representation of one’s own body, which involves affects, attitudes, perceptual components and cognition. On the contrary the term “body schema” was initially used to describe an unconscious body mental representation fundamental for action. Keizer and colleagues (2013) suggest the following definition: “[body schema is] an unconscious, sensorimotor, representation of the body that is invoked in action. In light of recent scientific developments regarding the multisensory integration of body sensations, the distinction between body image and body schema appears simplistic and probably no longer useful for scientific research and clinical purposes.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is derived from both the cognitive and behavioral schools of psychology and focuses on the alteration of thoughts and actions with the goal of treating various disorders. The cognitive behavioral treatment of eating disorders emphasizes on the minimization of negative thoughts about body image and the act of eating, and attempts to alter negative and harmful behaviors that are involved in and perpetuate eating disorders. It also encourages the ability to tolerate negative thoughts and feelings as well as the ability to think about food and body perception in a multi-dimensional way. The emphasis is not only placed on altering cognition, but also on tangible practices like making goals and being rewarded for meeting those goals. CBT is a "time-limited and focused approach" which means that it is important for the patients of this type of therapy to have particular issues that they want to address when they begin treatment. CBT has also proven to be one of the most effective treatments for eating disorders.
Body shaming is the action or inaction of subjecting someone to humiliation and criticism for their bodily features. The scope of body shaming is wide, and includes, although is not limited to fat-shaming, shaming for thinness, height-shaming, shaming of hairiness, of hair color, body shape, one's muscularity, shaming of penis size or breast size, shaming of looks, and in its broadest sense may even include shaming of tattoos and piercings, or diseases that leave a physical, mark such as psoriasis.
Chew and spit is a compensatory behavior associated with several eating disorders that involves chewing food and spitting it out before swallowing, often as an attempt to avoid ingesting unwanted or unnecessary calories. CS can be used as a way to taste food viewed as “forbidden” or unhealthy. Individuals who partake in CS typically have an increased desire for thinness, increased loss of control (LOC) and body dissatisfaction. CS can replace vomiting and/or binging behaviors, or serve as an additional behavior to many eating disorders.
Paul E. Garfinkel is a Canadian psychiatrist, researcher and an academic leader. He is a professor at the University of Toronto and a staff psychiatrist at Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
Atypical anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder in which individuals meet all the qualifications for anorexia nervosa, including a body image disturbance and a history of restrictive eating and weight loss, except that they are not currently underweight. Atypical anorexia qualifies as a mental health disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), under the category Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorders (OSFED). The characteristics of people with atypical anorexia generally do not differ significantly from anorexia nervosa patients except for their current weight.
Body checking is a compulsive behaviour related but not exclusive to various forms of body dysmorphic disorders. It involves frequently collecting various information about one’s own body in terms of size, shape, appearance or weight. Frequent expressions of this form of behaviour entails for example mirror checking, trying to feel one’s own bones, pinching the abdomen, frequent body weight measurement and comparing your own body to that of others. Studies have shown that an increased rate of body checking correlates with an overall increased dissatisfaction with the own body.
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