Don't check after a snack: body checking increases eating-related threat perception

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Eating Disorders

Background:

• Safety behaviors are common in eating disorders.
• These behaviors may worsen eating-related fear and threat perception.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if body checking, a safety behavior, increases eating-related threat perception and fear.
• To examine the impact of body checking on eating desires and calorie consumption in non-clinical women.

Main Methods:

• Ninety-nine non-clinical women consumed high-caloric snacks.
• Participants were randomly assigned to body checking, body control, or furniture measurement conditions.
• Post-manipulation, participants rated fear, threat perception, eating desires, and completed a taste test.

Main Results:

• Both body checking and unrelated body part measurement increased perceived threat of food intake.
• No significant changes in threat perception were observed in the general control group.
• Fear, eating desires, and calorie consumption did not differ significantly across conditions.

Conclusions:

• Even infrequent, unrelated body part checking can heighten eating-related threat perception.
• More persistent or intense safety behaviors may be needed to influence fear, eating desires, and consumption.