Body-scaled action in obesity during locomotion: Insights on the nature and extent of body representation disturbances

- Obesity impacts on body proportions as well as on the subjective bodily experience; however body schema distortions have not generally been explored.
- We investigated if body-scaled actions are distorted in individuals affected by obesity.
- Participants with obesity walked through door-like openings, as they were completely aware of their body dimensions
- The locomotor body schema was biased by obesity.

ObjectiveConscious perception of our own body, also known as body image, can influence body-scaled actions. Certain conditions such as obesity are frequently accompanied by a negative body image, leaving open the question if body-scaled actions are distorted in these individuals.MethodsTo shed light on this issue, we asked individuals affected by obesity to process dimensions of their own body in a real action: they walked in a straight-ahead direction, while avoiding collision with obstacles represented by door-like openings that varied in width.ResultsParticipants affected by obesity showed a body rotation behavior similar to that of the healthy weighted, but differences emerged in parameters such as step length and velocity.ConclusionWhen participants with obesity walk through door-like openings, their body parts rotation is scaled according to their physical body dimensions; however, they might try to minimize risk of collision. Our study is in line with the hypothesis that unconscious body-scaled actions are related to emotional, cognitive and perceptual components of a negative body image.