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- Title
Body Image in Eating Disorders: The Influence of Exposure to Virtual-Reality Environments.
- Authors
Gutiérrez-Maldonado, José; Ferrer-García, Marta; Caqueo-Urízar, Alejandra; Moreno, Elena
- Abstract
The aim of this article was to study the effect of virtual-reality exposure to situations that are emotionally significant for patients with eating disorders (ED) on the stability of body-image distortion and body-image dissatisfaction. A total of 85 ED patients and 108 non-ED students were randomly exposed to four experimental virtual environments: a kitchen with low-calorie food, a kitchen with high-calorie food, a restaurant with low-calorie food, and a restaurant with high-calorie food. In the interval between the presentation of each situation, body-image distortion and body-image dissatisfaction were assessed. Several 2 × 2 × 2 repeated measures analyses of variance (high-calorie vs. low-calorie food × presence vs. absence of people × ED group vs. control group) showed that ED participants had significantly higher levels of body-image distortion and body dissatisfaction after eating high-calorie food than after eating low-calorie food, while control participants reported a similar body image in all situations. The results suggest that body-image distortion and body-image dissatisfaction show both trait and state features. On the one hand, ED patients show a general predisposition to overestimate their body size and to feel more dissatisfied with their body image than controls. On the other hand, these body-image disturbances fluctuate when participants are exposed to virtual situations that are emotionally relevant for them.
- Subjects
BODY image; EATING disorders; VIRTUAL reality; SELF-perception; HIGH-calorie diet; LOW-calorie diet
- Publication
CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, 2010, Vol 13, Issue 5, p521
- ISSN
2152-2715
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1089/cyber.2009.0301