The integration of oppression related variables into eating disorder research

Eating disorders (EDs) are complex mental health conditions that are impacted by inequity and oppression, underscoring an urgency to examine EDs through a social-justice oriented framework. A primary component across ED diagnoses is body dissatisfaction. This study explored the prevalence of oppression-related variables (ORVs), including systems of oppression (e.g., cissexism, heterosexism, racism, classism, food insecurity, ableism) and biases (e.g., anti-fat bias, weight stigma), in EDs through cross sectional self-report questionnaires and longitudinal ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data collected over a two week period. Participants with ED symptoms completed self-report questionnaires (N = 63; 76.2 % White, 85.7 % female; 58.7 % heterosexual) assessing experiences of oppression. They also completed EMA surveys (N = 51) delivered five times per day for 15 days that captured the frequency of and stress arising from daily experiences of ORVs, including both directly experienced and witnessed instances of oppression. An EMA item assessing body dissatisfaction was included in these surveys. Cross-sectional findings showed that participants reported moderate and low-to-moderate levels of ORVs. Longitudinal EMA data revealed that anti-fat discrimination was the most frequently endorsed ORV and caused the greatest distress, followed closely by weight stigma. Repeated measures correlations indicated significant positive associations between body dissatisfaction and both ableism and weight stigma. ORVs may provide valuable insights into ED development and maintenance. Initial findings highlight the significance of discriminatory experiences, particularly weight-based discrimination, to EDs and the core ED symptom of body dissatisfaction. More inclusive research and interventions that address systemic oppression in the context of EDs is needed.