Randomized trial examines gaze patterns towards unattractive body parts in adolescents with anorexia nervosa, suggesting anxiety-related influences.
Key Points
The study aims to assess if adolescents with anorexia nervosa demonstrate a stronger attentional bias towards unattractive body parts than controls.
Participants included female adolescents with anorexia nervosa (n=27), depression (n=18), and non-patients (n=14).
Eye-tracking data were collected while participants viewed images of their own bodies and those of underweight and overweight individuals after anxiety induction.
Participants rated the attractiveness of the body parts after viewing the images.
AN patients fixated more on subjectively unattractive body parts compared to controls.
All groups looked longer at unattractive parts of overweight bodies but AN patients fixated more on these parts.
Gaze patterns indicate increased anxiety and body dissatisfaction among AN patients.