Ignorance is bliss? Are body image issues and eating disorders being ignored in intellectual disability populations?

Abstract

The topics of body image issues and eating disorders among people with intellectual disabilities are significantly understudied and underrepresented in psychological literature. This is despite eating disorders, with which body image issues go hand-in-hand, being among the most common, and the deadliest mental health disorders in neurotypical populations. This piece will look at possible reasons for this, including therapeutic and research disdain. On top of this, the possible consequences, such as death by indifference, will be discussed.Easy read summaryThere is very little research about how and if people with intellectual disabilities are affected by issues about their body image and eating disorders, despite these things being very common in people who do not have intellectual disabilities.This paper suggests some reasons why this may be, such as it being assumed that people with intellectual disabilities are not able to have body image issues or be affected by eating disorders because of their disability.Another reason suggested is that people doing research also are not looking at these things and because of this the guidelines for treating body image issues and eating disorders may not be suitable for people with intellectual disabilities.This is important as serious mental health conditions may be missed and people with intellectual disabilities may not be receiving the care that they need or deserve.