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Body image disturbance is a common symptom in patients with eating disorders and is characterized by an altered perception of one's own body.
The onset is mainly attributed to patients with anorexia nervosa who persistently tend to subjectively discern themselves as average or overweight despite adequate, clinical grounds for a classification of being considerably or severely underweight. The symptom is an altered perception of one's body and a severe state of bodily dissatisfaction characterizing the body image disturbance. It is included among the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa in DSM-5.
The disturbance is associated with significant bodily dissatisfaction and is a source of severe distress, often persisting even after seeking treatment for an eating disorder, and is regarded as difficult to treat. Thus, effective body image interventions could improve the prognosis of patients with ED, as experts have suggested. However, there is no hard evidence that current treatments for body image disturbance effectively reduce eating disorder symptoms. Furthermore, pharmacotherapy is ineffective in reducing body misperception and it has been used to focus on correlated psychopathology. However, to date, research and clinicians are developing new therapies such as virtual reality experiences, mirror exposure, or multisensory integration body techniques, which have shown some extent of efficacy.