ArticlePsychological medicine2018
Assessing body image in anorexia nervosa using biometric self-avatars in virtual reality: Attitudinal components rather than visual body size estimation are distorted.
Article in Psychological medicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06332963 (Interoceptive Mechanisms of Body Image Disturbance in Anorexia Nervosa), which is not on this map. Cited by 59 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Interoceptive Mechanisms of Body Image Disturbance in Anorexia Nervosa
Who cites it
59 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Neural correlates of body size estimation: A systematic review and narrative synthesis.Behavioural brain research · 2026Pooled it
- Anorexia Nervosa, Body Image Perception and Virtual Reality Therapeutic Applications: State of the Art and Operational Proposal.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- The Neuropsychological Profile of Severe and Enduring Anorexia Nervosa: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Pooled it
- A systematic and methodological review of attentional biases in eating disorders: Food, body, and perfectionism.Brain and behavior · 2019Pooled it
- Influence of body visualization in VR during the execution of motoric tasks in different age groups.PloS one · 2022Trial
- Repeated visual adaptation induces persistent behavioral and neural biases in body size perception.iScience · 2026Article
- Tactile stimulus discrimination in adolescents with anorexia nervosa: a behavioral and neurophysiological study.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- How thin is too thin? Evidence from visual aftereffects in body size estimation.Psychological research · 2026Article
- Virtual Reality Technology in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Across Multiple Psychiatric Conditions: A Narrative Literature Review.Psychology research and behavior management · 2026Review
- Assessing Patient Acceptance of Being Offered a Virtual Calm Room in Psychiatric Inpatient Care: Mixed Methods Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Impact of body-positive social media content on body image perception.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Review
- Body image differs in weight-based stereotypes between patients with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder: findings from the BodyTalk project.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Behavioral, neuronal, and physiological facets of multidimensional body image in anorexia nervosa: a scoping review.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Review
- The Role of Body Image Perception on a Continuum from Dysfunctional to Healthy Eating Attitudes and Behaviors Among People Seeking Treatment.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Examining the distinctiveness of body image and self-related constructs in eating disorders using virtual reality: the role of shape concerns, physical self-worth, and global self-worth.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Muscle Mass and Vitamin B6 Are Linked to Negative Body Image in Women with Anorexia Nervosa: A Retrospective Study.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Assessing the Efficacy of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Body Image in Adolescent Scoliosis Patients Using Virtual Reality.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Visual body size estimation in adolescent anorexia nervosa: Behavioural and neurophysiological data suggest intact visual perception and biased emotional attention.Translational psychiatry · 2024Article
- A Comprehensive Study of Positive Body Image as a Predictor of Psychological Well-Being in Anorexia Nervosa.Nutrients · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
backgroundBody image disturbance (BID) is a core symptom of anorexia nervosa (AN), but as yet distinctive features of BID are unknown. The present study aimed at disentangling perceptual and attitudinal components of BID in AN.
methodsWe investigated n = 24 women with AN and n = 24 controls. Based on a three-dimensional (3D) body scan, we created realistic virtual 3D bodies (avatars) for each participant that were varied through a range of ±20% of the participants' weights. Avatars were presented in a virtual reality mirror scenario. Using different psychophysical tasks, participants identified and adjusted their actual and their desired body weight. To test for general perceptual biases in estimating body weight, a second experiment investigated perception of weight and shape matched avatars with another identity.
resultsWomen with AN and controls underestimated their weight, with a trend that women with AN underestimated more. The average desired body of controls had normal weight while the average desired weight of women with AN corresponded to extreme AN (DSM-5). Correlation analyses revealed that desired body weight, but not accuracy of weight estimation, was associated with eating disorder symptoms. In the second experiment, both groups estimated accurately while the most attractive body was similar to Experiment 1.
conclusionsOur results contradict the widespread assumption that patients with AN overestimate their body weight due to visual distortions. Rather, they illustrate that BID might be driven by distorted attitudes with regard to the desired body. Clinical interventions should aim at helping patients with AN to change their desired weight.
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