Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

The estimation of body mass index and physical attractiveness is dependent on the observer's own body mass index

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Martin Tovee

Downloads

Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.


Abstract

A disturbance in the evaluation of personal body mass and shape is a key feature of both anorexia and bulimia nervosa. However, it is uncertain whether overestimation is a causal factor in the development of these eating disorders or is merely a secondary effect of having a low body mass. Moreover, does this overestimation extend to the perception of other people's bodies? Since body mass is an important factor in the perception of physical attractiveness, we wanted to determine whether this putative overestimation of self body mass extended to include the perceived attractiveness of others. We asked 204 female observers (31 anorexic, 30 bulimic and 143 control) to estimate the body mass and rate the attractiveness of a set of 25 photographic images showing people of varying body mass index (BMI). BMI is a measure of weight scaled for height (kg m-2). The observers also estimated their own BMI. Anorexic and bulimic observers systematically overestimated the body mass of both their own and other people's bodies, relative to controls, and they rated a significantly lower body mass to be optimally attractive. When the degree of overestimation is plotted against the BMI of the observer there is a strong correlation. Taken across all our observers, as the BMI of the observer declines, the overestimation of body mass increases. One possible explanation for this result is that the overestimation is a secondary effect caused by weight loss. Moreover, if the degree of body mass overestimation is taken into account, then there are no significant differences in the perceptions of attractiveness between anorexic and bulimic observers and control observers. Our results suggest a significant perceptual overestimation of BMI that is based on the observer's own BMI and not correlated with cognitive factors, and suggests that this overestimation in eating-disordered patients must be addressed directly in treatment regimes.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Tovee MJ, Emery JL, Cohen-Tovee EM

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Year: 2000

Volume: 267

Issue: 1456

Pages: 1987-1997

ISSN (print): 0962-8436

ISSN (electronic): 1471-2954

Publisher: The Royal Society Publishing

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2000.1240

DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2000.1240

PubMed id: 11075712


Altmetrics

Altmetrics provided by Altmetric


Share