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In the eye of the beholder: Processing body shape information in anorexic and bulimic patients
Author(s) -
Freeman Richard,
Touyz Stephen,
Sara Grant,
Rennie Chris,
Gordon Evian,
Beumont Pierre
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/1098-108x(199111)10:6<709::aid-eat2260100609>3.0.co;2-n
Subject(s) - dieting , psychology , anorexia nervosa , eating disorders , gaze , bulimia nervosa , audiology , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , medicine , clinical psychology , weight loss , psychoanalysis , obesity
Previous body image studies have suggested that dieting‐disordered patients (anorexia and bulimia nervosa) differ from normal subjects in their estimation of body size and desired body shape. It was hypothesized that overconcern with body shape in these patients would be reflected in their visual analyses of specific parts of their bodies. This hypothesis was investigated using a system that combines an infrared light source, video camera, dedicated microprocessor, and computer to monitor eye‐gaze direction at 50 times per second. Fifteen dieting‐disordered patients and 10 control subjects were examined in this way while simultaneously being shown a picture of themselves on a TV screen. Preliminary results suggest that the patients tend to focus on those parts of their body with which they are dissatisfied, while normal subjects scan their whole body shape. Objective assessment of areas of specific bodily concern among dieting‐disordered patients, as well as the examination of voluntary and involuntary processing of self‐referential stimuli, is offered by the use of such technology.