People with eating disorders are up to twelve times more likely to experience body dysmorphia than those without a history of eating disorders. 76% of those with eating disorders report suffering from body dysmorphia, a new study reveals.
Those with body dysmorphic disorder and anorexia have abnormalities in activity and connectivity in visual and parietal brain networks. People with anorexia and body dysmorphia process images with high, low, or normal levels of detail. The abnormalities for low level of detail have the most direct relationship with disorder symptom severity and body perception.
Researchers have identified a psychological pathway that can lead to body dysmorphia, causing an increased risk of both eating and exercise disorders.
A new study reports on how the perceptual mechanisms in a person’s brain adapt in response to images of one’s own or other people’s bodies that have been manipulated to look thinner or fatter than they really are.