The Psychology of Body Image Presentation by: Hi’ilawe Huddleston

Question: How does body image affect women in the psychological aspect? Thesis: The ideal body image portrayed by the media has led to major psychological diseases in women today. This so called “peer pressure” by the media has created a negative idea of body image in the minds of women, which eventually can cause severe psychological diseases, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

The history of body image and diseases Body image is a term used to describe the way you perceive the shape and size of your body in relation to others Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder defined by an inability to maintain one’s body weight within 15 percent of their Ideal Body Weight (IBW). Two main types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Two types of anorexia nervosa- restricting (counting calories) and purging (vomiting or using laxatives and diuretics.)

Why does this affect me? My personal engagement in this subject is that I have experienced anorexia nervosa first hand. Within ½ a year, I constantly counted calories and binged myself all because I looked in the mirror and didn’t like what I saw. The way I saw myself was a lot bigger than what I really looked like to others. Whether or not it was due to a psychological disorder, I too feel as if it is my duty to help those who can not help themselves. Also, because I plan on majoring in neuroscience, I thought the psychological aspect of women’s body image would be very interesting to research and write a paper on.

Counter-arguments for body image Eating disorders are not only psychological, but biochemical, genetic, cultural and environmental as well. Biochemical- certain chemicals in the body may have abnormal levels. People with bulimia and anorexia have higher levels of stress hormone cortisol. Cultural- body dissatisfaction, dieting, and wanting to be thin are all factors that increase the risk for eating disorders. Environmental- relationships, abuse, being bullied, activities, and peer pressure are environmental factors.

Arguments for body image Anorexics have specific brain abnormalities that contribute to or cause their distorted body image. Team of German researchers asked 25 women to describe their body shapes by pointing to examples displayed on a computer screen. Ten of these women had received a diagnosis for anorexia, while 15 did not have an eating disorder. The study participants unaffected by anorexia consistently viewed themselves as being thinner than their actual body shape, while the participants with anorexia consistently viewed themselves as being fatter than their actual body shape. the study concluded that the people with anorexia have an unusually low level of connectivity or signal strength between two of the three brain areas involved in accurately processing body images. They also concluded that strength of the signal between these two areas directly corresponds to the degree of body self-misperception in anorexics. In other words, people with relatively strong signals have relatively small degrees of body self-misperception, while people with relatively weak signals have relatively large degrees of body self-misperception. These conclusions support the verdicts of previous studies, which found that anorexics have a reduced ability to receive input in the brain’s final destination point for body image-related information. Eating disorders are illnesses, not character flaws or choices.

Treatment of diseases There are a few treatment options when it comes to treating psychological diseases associated with anorexia and bulimia. There are treatment facilities that offer outpatient and inpatient options, such as hospitalization. You can also see a nutritionist to help you with understanding nutrition and how it affects your body. The last option is to go through therapy and counseling.