WikiJournal of Medicine/Volume 11 Issue 1

WikiJournal of Medicine
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VOLUME 11 (2024)

ISSUE 1

Current issue

Body image disturbance in eating disorders

Author: Paolo Artoni

Body image disturbance (BID) is a frequent symptom in patients with eating disorders. The symptom occurs mainly in patients with anorexia nervosa continuing to perceive themselves as average weight or even overweight despite being severely underweight. An altered perception of one's body and a severe state of bodily dissatisfaction characterizing the body image disturbance. This symptom is included among the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa in DSM-5 (criterion C). The disturbance is associated with significant bodily dissatisfaction and is a source of severe distress, often persists in eating disorders after treatments, and is considered hard to treat. Thus, effective body image interventions could improve the prognosis in patients with ED, as Hilde Bruch suggested. Unfortunately, there is no hard evidence that current treatments for body image disturbance effectively reduce eating disorders' symptoms. Furthermore, pharmacotherapy is ineffective in reducing body misperception and it has been used to focus on correlated psychopathology (mood or anxiety disorders). However, to date, research and clinicians are developing new therapies as virtual reality experiences, mirror exposure or multisensory integration body techniques, which are showing promising results.

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doi: 10.15347/WJM/2024.001