No abstract

Given the lacking differences between eating-disordered patients and controls, these findings underline the importance of future research to enhance our understanding of what happens when patients are exposed to external or internal stimuli of media images of the thin ideal. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2016; 49:708-715).

Objective: Body and food-related information are thought to activate cognitive biases and contribute to the maintenance of eating disorders (ED). Approachavoidance biases may play an important role in the maintenance of dietary restriction and excessive food intake. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine approachavoidance biases toward food and body stimuli in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and healthy controls (HC). Methods:The study included 42 individuals with AN, 24 individuals with BN, and 38 HCs. We used two implicit Approach-Avoidance Tasks (AAT) to assess approachavoidance biases: participants completed a Food-AAT (high-calorie vs. low-calorie food) and a Body-AAT (thin vs. normal weight bodies). Additionally, explicit ratings of food and body stimuli were assessed.Results: There were no significant Group  Stimulus  Direction interactions in the implicit Food-AAT or implicit Body-AAT. In explicit ratings, individuals with AN and BN reported less urge to eat and more regret if they ate high-calorie and low-calorie food; individuals with AN and BN rated normal weight bodies as less normal weight, less attractive and less desirable than HCs. There were no group differences in explicit ratings of the thin body.Discussion: We did not find evidence for biased approach-avoidance tendencies toward food or body stimuli in individuals with AN or BN. Future studies are necessary to understand conflicting findings regarding approach-avoidance biases toward food and body stimuli in individuals with ED.

Objective Previous research suggested that exposure to the thin beauty ideal propagated by the media is associated with body dissatisfaction and the development of disordered eating. Given recent suggestions regarding the role of automatic processes, we aimed to enhance our understanding of automatic, unconscious responses to body pictures and the association with the internalization of the thin ideal and the severity of eating disorder symptoms. Method An affective priming task with body pictures of different weight as primes and a normal‐weight body picture as target, which had to be evaluated with regard to attractiveness and desirability, was administered to healthy women with either subliminal prime presentation (Experiment 1) or conscious presentation (Experiment 2). Results Subliminal presentation did not affect the evaluation of the normal‐weight target, although strength of evaluative shifts was significantly associated with internalization of the thin ideal. In contrast, the conscious presentation of the ultra‐thin prime decreased and of the obese prime increased desirability and attractiveness ratings of the target. Discussion Prevention strategies focusing on the critical evaluation of the thin ideal are important. Future studies are warranted to enhance our understanding of automatic, unconscious processes in women experiencing eating disorders.

Etiological models of eating disorders (EDs) describe body dissatisfaction (BD)as one of the major influences fostering dysfunctional body‐related behaviour and disordered eating behaviour. BD is influenced by repeated exposure to thin ideals that evoke high self‐ideal discrepancy and result in body‐related cognitive distortions such as thought–shape fusion body (TSF‐B). The aim of this study was to investigate the covariation of daily media exposure and the experience of TSF‐B in a naturalistic setting. It was further analysed whether TSF‐B is associated with self‐ideal discrepancy, dysfunctional body‐related behaviour, and disordered eating behaviour. Moreover, person‐related predictors of TSF‐B were explored. Altogether, 51healthy female students (mean age 21.06years, SD = 1.76) participated in an ecological momentary assessment study with four daily surveys during 10consecutive days. Exposure with thin ideals in contrast to exposure to unspecific media contents went along with the experience of TSF‐B. TSF‐B was associated with higher self‐ideal discrepancy and dysfunctional body‐related behaviour as well as more pronounced disordered eating behaviour, suggesting that TSF‐B is a common phenomenon in young healthy females' everyday life. A main effect of trait measures (e.g., pre‐existing BD) on TSF‐B was observable but has no moderating effect. Thus, a specific vulnerability has not been detected.