Body-Related Behaviours and Cognitions: Relationship to Eating Psychopathology in Non-Clinical Women and Men

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Eating disturbances and poor body image are maintained by body-related safety behaviours and their associated cognitions. These include body checking, avoidance, comparison and display, which can be seen as safety behaviours, maintaining eating pathology and poor body image. It is not clear from the existing literature whether these behavioural and cognitive patterns are independently related to eating psychopathology. METHOD: This study of a non-clinical group of women and men (N = 250) explored the association of eating attitudes and behaviours with these four elements of body-related behaviours and cognitions. RESULTS: It was found that each of the four elements had independent associations with eating attitudes and behaviours. Those associations were not explained by anxiety or depression levels. DISCUSSION: Whilst these findings require study within a clinical group, they suggest that all four elements of body-related behaviours and cognitions need to be considered as potential maintaining factors when formulating eating psychopathology and body image disturbance.