Effectiveness of a Dissonance-Based Body Image Intervention on Eating Pathology Symptoms

Disordered eating (e.g., binge eating, dietary restriction) continues to be a prevalent mental health concern for female individuals, with roughly 20 million women in the United States meeting diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder at some point in their lives. The Body Project, a dissonance-based body image intervention, is the leading intervention for reducing disordered eating. Although the Body Project appears to be effective at reducing disordered eating behaviors broadly, it is not known whether the Body Project is best suited to target specific types of disordered eating behaviors in a nonclinical sample. Fifty university students who were assigned female at birth attended two 2.5-hour sessions led by trained Body Project facilitators. Participants completed pre- and postintervention surveys that included the Eating Pathology Symptoms Inventory (EPSI), which assessed self-reported disordered eating behaviors. The EPSI scale is a 45-item measure designed as a multidimensional assessment of disordered eating and includes 8 subscales: body dissatisfaction, binge eating, cognitive restraint, purging, restricting, excessive exercise, negative attitudes about obesity, and muscle building. Results confirmed that the Body Project is effective at decreasing disordered eating behaviors broadly (all ps .08). However, effect sizes suggested that the intervention was most effective at decreasing subscale scores related to attaining thinness (i.e., cognitive restraint, excessive exercise, and restricting; ds > 0.50). Accordingly, the Body Project may be more effective at decreasing symptoms associated with dietary restriction in comparison to binge eating or compensatory behaviors in nonclinical samples (e.g., self-induced vomiting). As such, modifications may be necessary.