Researchers from the psychological department at York University in England are the ones behind the study. Over 90 % of patients with an eating disorder are women, and every year, 50 out of 100,000 young women are diagnosed with an eating disorder compared to 2 out of 100,000 men.
You may recognise the idea that women are more concerned about their body image than men, and earlier studies have shown that women are more inclined to be unhappy about their bodies.
In terms of negative perceptions of physical appearance, social pressure is suspected of being a significant factor. As women tend to be more susceptible to such pressure, this may help explain why eating disorders affect women more than men. Earlier studies have shown that patients with an eating disorder – especially anorexia – often overestimate their body size, which means they believe they look larger than they are. This feeling appears to be present among many. However, the mental brain mechanisms behind these negative feelings of the body, and how they relate to the perception of the body and the development of the eating disorder, are still unknown.
The researchers from York intended to locate the part of the brain that may be the cause of these negative body perceptions. They examined 16 men and 16 women, all of whom had not previously had an eating disorder. Each participant had to wear a virtual reality headset that showed a video of either a ‘slim’ or ‘thick’ body, when they gazed down upon themselves. To strengthen this illusion, the researchers poked each participant's’ torso with a stick in sync with the video.
During this experiment, the participants also had their brain activity measured with an MR scanner. When they looked at their ‘thick’ bodies, the researchers could observe a direct connection between activity in the area of the brain which is associated with body perceptions, and the area which is associated with subjective feelings, such as fear and anger. This brain activity was more apparent among women than men. This suggests that people with a ‘fat’ body are more likely to have a more negative body perception, and this find may help explain the bigger vulnerability among women than men.
References:
1. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/313466.php
2. https://www.sundhed.dk/borger/patienthaandbogen/psyke-hos-boern/sygdomme/anoreksi/anoreksi-forekomst/
