Shifting the Focus: A Pilot Study on the Effects of Positive Body Exposure on Body Satisfaction, Body Attitude, Eating Pathology and Depressive Symptoms in Female Patients with Eating Disorders.

One of the most commonly used techniques for the treatment of body image problems in eating disorders (ED) is body exposure (BE). However, evidence of its effectiveness in clinical populations is scarce. In the Positive Body Experience (PBE) protocol, the focus of positive BE is on aesthetic, functional and tactile aspects of the body. The current study evaluates the outcomes of positive BE with regard to changes in attitudinal body image and eating pathology, as well as the factors that influence these changes, in a sample of 84 adult female patients with different EDs who did not receive any other treatment for their EDs during the period in which BE treatment occurred. The results show significant positive changes in attitudinal body image, ED behaviors and depressive symptoms, with depressive symptoms at baseline mediating the changes in attitudinal body image. This study indicates that the PBE protocol is a suitable intervention for reducing negative attitudinal body image in anorexia and bulimia nervosa patients, as well as those with binge eating disorder. Furthermore, the results suggest that positive non-weight-related and functional body satisfaction are strong catalysts for change and that depressive symptoms play an important role in the ability to change. Additional RCTs are needed to gain more insight into the effects of PBE.

Measuring body satisfaction in women with eating disorders and healthy women: appearance-related and functional components in the Body Cathexis Scale (Dutch version).

PURPOSE: Differentiating the concept of body satisfaction, especially the functional component, is important in clinical and research context. The aim of the present study is to contribute to further refinement of the concept by evaluating the psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the Body Cathexis Scale (BCS). Differences in body satisfaction between clinical and non-clinical respondents are also explored. METHOD: Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to investigate whether functional body satisfaction can be distinguished as a separate factor, using data from 238 adult female patients from a clinical sample and 1060 women from two non-clinical samples in the Netherlands. Univariate tests were used to identify differences between non-clinical and clinical samples. RESULTS: EFA identified functionality as one of three factors, which was confirmed by CFA. CFA showed the best fit for a three-factor model, where functionality, non-weight, and weight were identified as separate factors in both populations. Internal consistency was good and correlations between factors were low. Women in the non-clinical sample scored significantly higher on the BCS than women with eating disorders on all three subscales, with high effect sizes. CONCLUSIONS: The three factors of the BCS may be used as subscales, enabling researchers and practitioners to use one scale to measure different aspects of body satisfaction, including body functionality. Use of the BCS may help to achieve a more complete understanding of how people evaluate body satisfaction and contribute to further research on the effectiveness of interventions focussing on body functionality. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Cross-sectional descriptive study, Level V.