Body image differs in weight-based stereotypes between patients with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder: findings from the BodyTalk project.

Abstract

Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and Binge Eating Disorder (BED) have considerable symptom overlap, and prior studies observed similiarities in respect to patient's body image. However, weight-based stereotypes have so far not been considered together with other facets of body image. This study investigated body image, body size estimation accuracy and weight-based stereotypes in a German-Italian sample of 22 patients with BN, 22 patients with BED and 44 weight-matched controls who had no eating disorder. Patients with BN and BED reported significantly more negative body image than controls and were not differently accurate in estimating their body size than the controls. However, patients with BN showed stronger weight-based stereotypes compared to patients with BED and controls, suggesting that these patients hold stronger stereotypes and apply weight-based stereotypes to lower weight excessively. Observations from this study suggest that clinical treatment of body image disturbance in patients with BN and BED should address negative body image and weight-based stereotypes in a differentiated way.