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Weight-related other evaluation in eating disorders
K Trottier1, T McFarlane, M Olmsted
1Ambulatory Care for Eating Disorders, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. kathrynt@psych.utoronto.ca
Eating and Weight Disorders : EWD
|June 7, 2006
Summary
Individuals with disordered eating exhibit negative weight-related evaluations of others, not just themselves. This suggests that body image concerns in eating disorders impact social perceptions more broadly.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Weight-related self-evaluation is a core feature of disordered eating.
- It remains unclear if these evaluations extend beyond the self to others.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether individuals with eating disorders evaluate others based on weight.
- To compare these evaluations with those of a non-clinical undergraduate group.
Main Methods:
- Eating disordered patients (n=33) and undergraduates (n=54) read an article about a woman described as overweight or slender.
- Participants evaluated the woman on attractiveness, popularity, intelligence, and likability.
Main Results:
- Both groups rated the overweight woman as less attractive than the slender woman.
- Eating disordered patients showed significantly more negative evaluations of the overweight woman's attractiveness, popularity, and likability compared to undergraduates.
- Patients also perceived the overweight woman as more overweight and less intelligent.
Conclusions:
- Weight-related biases in eating disorders extend beyond self-perception to influence the evaluation of other people.
- These findings highlight the pervasive nature of body image distortions in disordered eating.
- This has implications for understanding social cognition and interpersonal judgments in eating disorder populations.
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