Expand Your Horizon: A programme that improves body image and reduces self-objectification by training women to focus on body functionality

•We conducted a randomised controlled trial of the Expand Your Horizon programme.•The programme teaches participants to focus on the functionality of their body.•The programme was administered to women with a negative body image.•Compared to control participants, programme participants experienced improvement in body image.•Programme participants also experienced decreased levels of self-objectification.

This study tested Expand Your Horizon, a programme designed to improve body image by training women to focus on the functionality of their body using structured writing assignments. Eighty-one women (Mage = 22.77) with a negative body image were randomised to the Expand Your Horizon programme or to an active control programme. Appearance satisfaction, functionality satisfaction, body appreciation, and self-objectification were measured at pretest, posttest, and one-week follow-up. Following the intervention, participants in the Expand Your Horizon programme experienced greater appearance satisfaction, functionality satisfaction, and body appreciation, and lower levels of self-objectification, compared to participants in the control programme. Partial eta-squared effect sizes were of small to medium magnitude. This study is the first to show that focusing on body functionality can improve body image and reduce self-objectification in women with a negative body image. These findings provide support for addressing body functionality in programmes designed to improve body image.