Individuals suffering from eating disorders frequently have negative feelings about their bodies and are overly concerned about their body size and weight. They may participate in certain behaviors and hold particular beliefs that negatively reinforce a poor body image. The following is a partial list of some of the signs and symptoms of being overly affected by body image.
Thoughts about “feeling fat”
Feeling shameful and guilty about your body
Is done on purpose, with an intent to cause harm
Avoidance of social situations that emphasize physical appearance
Looking at others to see how your body size compares to others
Weight determines how good you feel about yourself:
What you weigh affects your relationships
Pinching of body parts to measure fatness
Checking reflection in glass windows to see how your body looks
Having special clothes that are used to make sure your body is a certain size
Having clothes that do not fit to entice self to lose weight
Touching underneath the chin to check for a “double chin”
Feeling you can not give a speech or make a presentation based on the way you look:
Missing school based on feeling you have gained weight
Checking the diameter of the wrist for size maintenance:
Missing school based on feeling you have gained weight
Asking others about weight to compare your weight to others
Asking others about clothing size to compare your clothing size to others
Attempting to elicit comments from others about how fat you are
Embarrassment about body weight
Checking to see how close thighs are together when standing up
Checking for cellulite in thighs
Sucking in your stomach in front of a mirror to see what it looks like
Preferring to only wear baggy clothes
Pinching of cheeks to measure fatness
Difficulty undressing in front of a spouse or other loved ones
Comparing own body to people on television, in movies, and magazines
Checking to see if body parts giggle
Checking to see if rings still fit as in the past
Checking to make sure the same belt hole is used as in the past
Checking to see if you can feel your bones
Weighing of self multiple times
Fear of weighing oneself
Making negative comments about your body to others
Difficulty taking compliments from others about the way you look
