Does the avoidance of body and shape concerns reinforce eating disordered attitudes? Evidence from a manipulation study

It is theoretically plausible to assume that attention plays a role in eating disordered attitudes. Indeed, studies examining relations between eating disorders and attention to body and/or shape related stimuli have found such associations. Although this research is invaluable in characterizing relations between attentional processes and eating disordered attitudes, such work remains correlational in nature. In the present investigation, 73 undergraduate women were randomly assigned to one of two attentional training conditions. One condition trained attention away from body/shape words, whereas the other trained attention toward body/shape words. Following this training participants reported on their eating-related attitudes. Women trained to avoid body/shape words subsequently reported more concerns about eating and body shape. These results suggest that attentional avoidance of body/shape concerns increases such concerns. The results point to the potential causal effects of attention on eating disordered attitudes, in turn suggesting a basis for possible treatment.