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

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a psychiatric condition characterised by a distortion of body image. However, whether individuals with AN can accurately perceive the size of other individuals' bodies is unclear.

In the current study, 24 women with AN and 24 healthy control participants undertook two biological motion tasks while eyetracking was performed: to identify the gender and to indicate the walkers' body size.

Anorexia nervosa participants tended to 'hyperscan' stimuli but did not demonstrate differences in how visual attention was directed to different body areas, relative to controls. Groups also did not differ in their estimation of body size.

The hyperscanning behaviours suggest increased anxiety to disorder-relevant stimuli in AN. The lack of group difference in the estimation of body size suggests that the AN group was able to judge the body size of others accurately. The findings are discussed in terms of body image distortion specific to oneself in AN.