Here’s how your body image can impact your emotional wellness, your risk of eating disorders, and your physical health.
“It is important to remember that when someone says, ‘I feel fat’ — that fat isn’t a feeling,” Kelman says. “An overfocus on body and weight can be an indication of avoidance of dealing with deeper feelings.”
“Our thoughts directly impact our emotional experiences, including our bodily sensations, urges, and behaviors,” says Samantha DeCaro, PsyD, the director of clinical outreach and education at the Renfrew Center in Philadelphia, a residential eating disorder treatment facility. “Negative self-talk about the body often precedes harmful behaviors such as chronic dieting, isolating, restricting, overexercising, or bingeing and purging.” “If a negative body image starts someone down the road to dieting, and dieting then increases the chances of engaging in other disordered eating behavior, I think that’s one of the most significant risks of a negative body image,” Dr. Engler says.
A negative body image that leads to an eating disorder may endanger your physical health. “Those who restrict their [food] intake might experience various health complications such as malnourishment, cardiac abnormalities, gastrointestinal issues, muscle loss, and osteoporosis,” DeCaro says. “And those who struggle with binge eating might experience high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, or high blood pressure.” A word of caution, however: While a positive body image is generally a good thing, being unrealistically positive can cause you to overlook real health issues. “There’s so much [in our culture] about body acceptance — that you should accept your body the way it is — but sometimes that can give the wrong message to individuals who are at an unhealthy body weight,” says Paakhi Srivastava, PhD, an assistant research professor and interim director of the Center for Weight, Eating and Lifestyle Science (WELL Clinic) at Drexel University in Philadelphia. For instance, obesity can put you at higher risk of various medical conditions, and if you avoid taking steps to mitigate those risks and improve your health (in the name of being body positive or for any other reason), that can be dangerous, Dr. Srivastava says. Any overfocus on your body can be problematic, Engler says. So if a more neutral stance keeps you from thinking about and overthinking your appearance, well-being benefits should follow.
