Teens with eating disorders look at images of women differently

Everyday we encounter advertisements showing provocative photos of women. Magazine ads, tv commercials, and billboards all work by grabbing our attention. How do girls with an eating disorder, who, by definition, are preoccupied with body image, deal with these photos?  New research released online this month tracked the actual eye movements of teens as they viewed various pictures of women – and found differences between teens with and without an eating disorder.

A German research group conducted a study with a small group of 12 to 18-year-old girls, about half of whom were diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia Nervosa. All the girls, including those with and without an eating disorder, were shown the same pictures of women wearing bathing suits or underwear. Using specialized equipment, the researchers were able to track the eye movements of the teens as they viewed the pictures.

The researchers found that teens with an eating disorder looked at unclothed body parts more than teens without an eating disorder. However, all the girls tended to visually focus on similar body parts – hips, abs, butt, and upper legs.

What does this mean for the treatment of eating disorders in teens? The study authors suggest that such teens could be taught to look at images of women in the media differently – to focus less on unclothed body parts and more towards aspects of an image that don't include a woman’s body. Whether or not this would help with treating eating disorders is unclear. It’s possible that as girls recover from eating disorder symptoms like binging or restricting food intake, they simultaneously begin to look at media pictures differently. But showing that would entail another research study. 

Photo credit: Andrew at Cuba Gallery

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