Feelings Of Fatness Research Articles

Extending the scope of the interpersonal psychotherapy model of eating disorders: Integrating the role of ‘feeling fat’

The interpersonal psychotherapy model of eating disorders (IPT-ED) argues that interpersonal problems result in negative affect, and that an inability to cope with this negative affect triggers ED symptoms. Relatedly, it is theorized that ‘feeling fat’ (i.e., the somatic experience of being overweight not entirely explained by one’s body mass) results from shifting negative affect onto one’s body, which can then be controlled via ED symptoms. Research has yet to identify why negative affect caused by interpersonal problems may trigger ED symptoms as opposed to other maladaptive behaviours. Integrating ‘feeling fat’ into the IPT-ED may help to explain this relationship. This study examined whether interpersonal problems positively related to ED symptoms via negative affect and ‘feeling fat’ in 190 undergraduate women (mean age [SD] = 19.05 [1.23]; mean BMI [SD] = 21.76 [3.17]; 72.8% Caucasian). Using both cross-sectional and longitudinal path analyses, we tested the indirect effects of ostracism and peer victimization on binge eating and restricting via negative affect and ‘feeling fat’ using serial indirect effects analyses. Cross-sectional path analysis revealed significant indirect effects of ostracism on both binge eating and restricting sequentially via negative affect and ‘feeling fat’, such that ostracism related to negative affect, which related to ‘feeling fat’, which was ultimately associated with disordered eating behaviours. Longitudinal path analysis replicated the significant indirect effects of ostracism on binge eating sequentially via negative affect and ‘feeling fat’. Results suggest that individuals may displace negative feelings that result from ostracism onto their body, triggering ‘feelings of fatness’ and prompting ED symptoms. Future research should examine ‘feeling fat’ within the IPT-ED in a sample of individuals with EDs to determine its clinical utility beyond an undergraduate sample.

Relevance of the Thought-Shape Fusion Trait Questionnaire for healthy women and women presenting symptoms of eating disorders and mixed mental disorders.

Thought-shape fusion (TSF) describes the experience of marked concerns about body weight/shape, feelings of fatness, the perception of weight gain, and the impression of moral wrongdoing after thinking about eating fattening/forbidden foods. This study sets out to evaluate the short version of the TSF trait questionnaire (TSF). The sample consists of 315 healthy control women, 244 women with clinical and subthreshold eating disorders, and 113 women with mixed mental disorders (mixed). The factor structure of the TSF questionnaire was examined using exploratory and subsequent confirmatory factor analyses. The questionnaire distinguishes between a Concept scale and a Clinical Impact scale. However, a lack of measurement invariances refers to significant differences between groups in terms of factor loadings, thresholds, and residuals, which questions cross-group validity. Results indicate that the concept is understood differently in the 3 groups and refers to the suitability of the questionnaire primarily for individuals presenting with symptoms of eating disorders.

Short-term changes in affective, behavioral, and cognitive components of body image after bariatric surgery

BackgroundMany bariatric surgery candidates report body image concerns before surgery. Research has reported post-surgical improvements in body satisfaction, which may be associated with weight loss. However, research has failed to comprehensively examine changes in affective, behavioral, and cognitive body image. ObjectivesThis research examined (1) short-term changes in affective, behavioral, and cognitive components of body image from pre-surgery to 1- and 6-months after bariatric surgery, and (2) the association between percent weight loss and these changes. SettingParticipants were recruited from a private hospital in the midwestern United States. MethodsEighty-eight females (original N = 123; lost to follow-up: n = 15 at 1-month and n = 20 at 6-months post-surgery) completed a questionnaire battery, including the Body Attitudes Questionnaire, Body Checking Questionnaire, Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire, and Body Shape Questionnaire, and weights were obtained from patients’ medical records before and at 1- and 6-months post-surgery. ResultsResults indicated significant decreases in body dissatisfaction, feelings of fatness, and body image avoidance at 1- and 6-months after bariatric surgery, with the greatest magnitude of change occurring for body image avoidance. Change in feelings of fatness was significantly correlated with percent weight loss at 6-months, but not 1-month, post-surgery. ConclusionsThese findings highlight the importance of examining short-term changes in body image from a multidimensional perspective in the effort to improve postsurgical outcomes. Unique contributions include the findings regarding the behavioral component of body image, as body image avoidance emerges as a particularly salient concern that changes over time among bariatric surgery candidates.

Psychological factors associated with the use of weight management behaviours in young adults

We modified the Weight Control Behaviours scale to explore unhealthy/healthy behaviours to increase, decrease or maintain weight in young adults ( N = 1082) and associations with body mass index, depression and body image. Females reported more use of all strategies except those which increase body size or exercising to exhaustion. Although the sample reported more use of healthy weight management strategies, the use of dangerous ones warrants attention by healthcare professionals. Feelings of fatness was an important predictor of weight management behaviours. Public health campaigns should focus on the harmfulness of unhealthy weight management practices as well as the importance of healthy ones.

The Moderating Role of Purging Behaviour in the Relationship Between Sexual/Physical Abuse and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Eating Disorder Patients.

This study sought to examine predictors of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in eating disorder patients and to evaluate the moderating role of purging behaviours in the relationship between a theorised predictor (i.e. sexual/physical abuse) and NSSI. Participants in this study were 177 female patients with eating disorders (age range = 14-38 years) who completed semistructured interviews assessing eating disorder symptoms and eating disorder-related risk factors (e.g. history of sexual and physical abuse, history of NSSI and feelings of fatness). Results revealed that 65 participants (36.7%) reported lifetime engagement in NSSI, and 48 participants (27.1%) reported a history of sexual/physical abuse. Early onset of eating problems, lower BMI, feeling fat, a history of sexual/physical abuse and the presence of purging behaviours were all positively associated with the lifetime occurrence of NSSI. The relationship between sexual/physical abuse before eating disorder onset and lifetime NSSI was moderated by the presence of purging behaviours, such that the relationship was stronger in the absence of purging. These findings are consistent with the notion that purging and NSSI may serve similar functions in eating disorder patients (e.g. emotion regulation), such that the presence of purging may attenuate the strength of the association between sexual/physical abuse history (which is also associated with elevated NSSI risk) and engagement in NSSI behaviours.

Overvaluation of body shape/weight and engagement in non-compensatory weight-control behaviors in eating disorders: is there a reciprocal relationship?

Overvaluation of body shape/weight is thought to be the core psychopathology underlying eating disorders, which propels engagement in non-compensatory weight-control behaviors. In turn, these behaviors lead to binge eating and/or maintenance of low weight thereby reinforcing overvaluation. The present study investigated the reciprocal relationship between overvaluation and engagement in non-compensatory weight-control behaviors (defined in two ways: restrictive eating and compulsive exercise) among women diagnosed with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa (N = 237). Participants completed clinical interviews in which weekly eating disorder symptoms and behaviors were assessed over 2 years. Overvaluation on a given week was associated with greater engagement in non-compensatory weight-control behaviors during the following week. Further, engagement in non-compensatory weight-control behaviors on a given week was associated with greater overvaluation during the following week. These findings held true regardless of participants' shape/weight concerns (feelings of fatness and fat phobia), and eating disorder diagnosis. Our data provide empirical support for key aspects of the transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral model of eating disorders and suggest that targeting non-compensatory weight-control behaviors in treatment may help alleviate overvaluation and shape/weight concerns.

The Effect of Functionality- and Aesthetic-Focused Images on Australian Women’s Body Satisfaction

Negative effects of viewing images of thin and attractive models have been well documented. However, these models are typically presented in an objectified, passive form with a focus on the aesthetic qualities of the body. Little is known about women’s responses to models presented in an active form, with a focus on athleticism and performance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to test body conceptualization theory by exposing women to models presented with a focus on the body-as-object (BAO), the body-as-process (BAP), or images of scenery, and to examine whether a desire to achieve an athletic body interacted with these effects. A convenience sample of 160 women was recruited from the general public, gyms, and university in a regional Australian area. Participants completed pre- and post-test measures of state mood, fitness and body satisfaction as well as a trait measure of athletic internalization. Results showed that exposure to either BAP or BAO images produced similar negative outcomes compared to exposure to scenery. Thus, emphasis on performance cues still elicits negative self-evaluations. However, differences between women high and low on athletic internalization were primarily found in response to the BAO images. That is, women who desired an athletic physique reported greater depression, anger and feelings of fatness after viewing the posed models compared to women who expressed less desire for an athletic body shape. Further research is needed around the ways in which athletic images and athletic internalization can be used to foster a more positive body image.

The impact of experimentally-induced positive mood on affect, eating behaviour, and eating-related responses

Negative affect has been linked to abnormal eating patterns. The present study examined the impact of a video-clip aimed at inducing positive mood in a sample of healthy controls (HCs; N = 35) and a sample of patients with anorexic symptoms (EDs; N = 13). Participants took part in two experimental sessions comparing the use of a vodcast to increase positive mood (experimental condition) with the use of a video-clip with contents related to general knowledge (control condition) during a test-meal (smoothie). They completed baseline and post-meal self-report and behavioural assessments. The amount of smoothie consumed was also measured. No changes in mood, feelings of fatness, fullness, urge to exercise and restrict intake, attentional bias to food, and number of positive and negative words recalled occurred in the neutral condition for both groups. In the experimental condition, both healthy controls and patients reported higher levels of positive mood (HCs p = .04; EDs p = .01). Healthy controls also reported higher levels of fullness ( p = .006) and showed a significant change of the attentional pattern to food stimuli ( p = .03). The clinical sample reported also lower levels of negative mood ( p = .04), recalled fewer negative words ( p = .05), and showed a trend for a reduction in urge to restrict ( p = .07) in the experimental condition. In terms of eating behaviour, the use of the positive mood vodcast was associated to a greater consumption of smoothie in the clinical sample ( p = .02), whereas no differences between conditions were found in the healthy controls.

Inducción experimental de la fusión pensamiento-forma en pacientes con trastornos alimentarios: el papel de las estrategias de afrontamiento

Objective: The aim was to induce the thought-shape fusion (TSF) distortion experimentally, testing: a) Whether the TSF distortion could be induced by anxiety in general or if it had a specific relationship with thoughts related to the intake of fattening foods; b) Whether the TSF could be induced in non-clinical participants as well as in the eating disorder patients; c) Whether participants with more appropriate coping strategies would experience less TSF than those who showed inadequate coping strategies; and d) That TSF could have behavioural effects (e.g., neutralization of TSF and food intake) related to emotions. Methods: The sample comprised two groups (eating disorder patients and students), with 45 participants each, aged between 18 and 25 years, 92.50% and 86.7% of women in the eating disorders group and the students group respectively. The two groups underwent three experimental conditions (TSF, anxiety, and control), measuring the results with regards to the emotional and behavioural responses. Results: Participants in the TSF induction condition reported more guilt, more feelings of fatness, more likelihood of weight gain, and higher degree of moral wrongdoing compared with participants in both the anxiety and control induction conditions. The effect of the adequate coping strategies in decreasing the strength of the TSF bias was confirmed in both eating disorder patients and non-clinical participants. Discussion: The study of the TSF distortion may have relevant implications in terms of treatment and prognostic of eating disorders. This distortion may be involved in the development and maintenance of eating disorder psychopathology.

Experimental induction of thought-shape fusion in eating disorder patients: the role of coping strategies.

The aim was to induce the thought-shape fusion (TSF) distortion experimentally, testing: a) Whether the TSF distortion could be induced by anxiety in general or if it had a specific relationship with thoughts related to the intake of fattening foods; b) Whether the TSF could be induced in non-clinical participants as well as in the eating disorder patients; c) Whether participants with more appropriate coping strategies would experience less TSF than those who showed inadequate coping strategies; and d) That TSF could have behavioural effects (e.g., neutralization of TSF and food intake) related to emotions. The sample comprised two groups (eating disorder patients and students), with 45 participants each, aged between 18 and 25 years, 92.50% and 86.7% of women in the eating disorders group and the students group respectively. The two groups underwent three experimental conditions (TSF, anxiety, and control), measuring the results with regards to the emotional and behavioural responses. Participants in the TSF induction condition reported more guilt, more feelings of fatness, more likelihood of weight gain, and higher degree of moral wrong-doing compared with participants in both the anxiety and control induction conditions. The effect of the adequate coping strategies in decreasing the strength of the TSF bias was confirmed in both eating disorder patients and non-clinical participants. The study of the TSF distortion may have relevant implications in terms of treatment and prognostic of eating disorders. This distortion may be involved in the development and maintenance of eating disorder psychopathology.

The role of food-cue exposure and negative affect in the experience of thought-shape fusion

Thought-shape fusion (TSF) is a cognitive distortion that can be induced by imagining eating high-caloric foods, and involves increased guilt, feelings of fatness, and perceptions of weight gain and moral wrong-doing. Two studies were conducted to further elucidate this phenomenon. Study 1 investigated whether merely being exposed to fattening foods (without being asked to think about these foods) could induce a TSF-like experience. Study 2 investigated the relationship between negative affect and TSF-like experiences. The results suggested that TSF is specific to thinking about eating fattening foods, as mere exposure to high-caloric foods did not increase state TSF scores in healthy females relative to a neutral control condition. Furthermore, susceptibility to TSF is associated with negative affect. Healthy females with low levels of negative affect appear to be protected against TSF, medium negative affect is associated with susceptibility to TSF inductions, while those with high levels of negative affect appear to be particularly vulnerable to TSF-like experiences (even after imagining a neutral situation). Overall, the studies suggest that negative affect is associated with a TSF-like experience, and that TSF is a phenomenon that is experienced (to at least some extent) by females in the general population.

Sex differences in body satisfaction, feeling fat and pressure to diet among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong

AbstractObjective:This study examines body size, body satisfaction (BodSat), feelings of fatness (FeelFat) and pressure to diet (PressDiet) in 356 non‐referred Hong Kong Chinese adolescents. The primary interest was to elucidate the mechanisms that increase risk for girls to translate their dissatisfaction with their bodies into weight restriction efforts.Method:Secondary school boys (n = 192) and girls (n = 164) completed selected scales of the Body Attitudes Questionnaire with measures for BodSat, FeelFat and PressDiet. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated based on current weight and height.Results:As predicted, the association between FeelFat and PressDiet was stronger in girls than boys. FeelFat mediated the effect of BodSat and BMI on PressDiet in girls. In contrast, in boys, BMI influenced PressDiet independently of FeelFat.Discussion:These findings suggest that the effect of BMI on PressDiet may be a protective factor against eating pathology in boys. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

Body images in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa

This study extends earlier research on body image disturbance in anorexia nervosa to the reactions of patients with bulimia nervosa. “Natural” procedures were employed, and normal comparison groups as well as those with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa used adjective scales to rate “the self,” mirror images of themselves that were veridical, exaggerated for fatness or for thinness and adjusted to their ideal, and a television image they had adjusted to show how they feel and then how they think their body is. The different adjustments and ratings that were made in each condition question the validity of any single estimates of body size. Nevertheless, this multimethod approach to the cognitive and affective components of body image shows that those with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa consistently emphasize their feelings of fatness.