Body image distortion in non-eating disordered women and men

This study of body image perception in 100 non-eating disordered women and men demonstrates that overperception of body widths, whilst accurately perceiving a neutral object, is not restricted to populations with eating disorders, nor is it peculiar to women. Men consistently overestimated body widths to the same extent as female subjects. Overall, 84% of women and 52% of men wished to weigh less. Considering those subjects within the 10% range of Mean Matched Population Weight (MMPW), men wished to be 0.75 kg heavier, whilst women at MMPW wished to weigh 3.25 kg less. For women, the subjects who were most satisfied with their actual weight were those who were well below MMPW. There is a tendancy that the greater the deviation of weight from normal, in either direction, the greater the degree of body width overestimation. These results suggest that the overperception of body width is more related to current weight than to concern about weight and shape, or to the presence or absence of an eating disorder. They question the use of empirical body size estimation measurement in eating disordered populations.