No association between body dissatisfaction and attentional bias towards lower-weight bodies in a non-clinical sample of women: an eye-tracking study
5 affiliations
- 1Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol 1 , Bristol, UK
- 2NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, University of Bristol 2 , Bristol, UK
- 3School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol 3 , Bristol, UK
- 4Centre for Academic Mental Health, Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol 4 , Bristol, UK
- 5Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust 5 , Brockworth, UK
Abstract
Body dissatisfaction is a key risk factor for psychiatric illnesses and is a modifiable target. Previous gaze-tracking research suggests that body dissatisfaction is related to greater attentional bias towards lower-weight bodies. Here, we aimed to partially replicate and extend previous work to verify this association by using realistic body stimuli and a validated scale of body dissatisfaction. Sixty, mostly young, women from the general population underwent eye-tracking while viewing picture pairs of women's bodies morphed to lower and higher weights. Attentional bias was measured as percentage fixation duration, fixation count and first fixations on lower-weight compared to higher-weight bodies. There was weak evidence that all women fixated for longer on lower-weight bodies, and that participants with higher body dissatisfaction spent less time fixating on lower-weight bodies, contrary to our hypotheses and to previous findings, but this effect was not robust to adjustment for age and body mass index. This lack of replication suggests this association is not robust in non-clinical populations. Instead, an overall bias towards lower-weight bodies could contribute to higher levels of body dissatisfaction and risk of mental health problems in younger women. Future studies measuring attentional biases in realistic settings and in clinical populations with eating disorder symptoms are needed.
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BibTeX
@article{crisp2026association,
title = {{No association between body dissatisfaction and attentional bias towards lower-weight bodies in a non-clinical sample of women: an eye-tracking study}},
author = {Charlotte Crisp and Yufei Jin and Mary-Kate S Nealon and Helen Low and Jon Heron and Iain D. Gilchrist and Ian Penton-Voak and Helen Bould},
journal = {Royal Society Open Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1098/rsos.252073},
url = {https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/10/252073/483925/No-association-between-body-dissatisfaction-and},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - No association between body dissatisfaction and attentional bias towards lower-weight bodies in a non-clinical sample of women: an eye-tracking study
AU - Charlotte Crisp
AU - Yufei Jin
AU - Mary-Kate S Nealon
AU - Helen Low
AU - Jon Heron
AU - Iain D. Gilchrist
AU - Ian Penton-Voak
AU - Helen Bould
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - Royal Society Open Science
DO - 10.1098/rsos.252073
UR - https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/10/252073/483925/No-association-between-body-dissatisfaction-and
AB - Body dissatisfaction is a key risk factor for psychiatric illnesses and is a modifiable target. Previous gaze-tracking research suggests that body dissatisfaction is related to greater attentional bias towards lower-weight bodies. Here, we aimed to partially replicate and extend previous work to verify this association by using realistic body stimuli and a validated scale of body dissatisfaction. Sixty, mostly young, women from the general population underwent eye-tracking while viewing picture pairs of women's bodies morphed to lower and higher weights. Attentional bias was measured as percentage fixation duration, fixation count and first fixations on lower-weight compared to higher-weight bodies. There was weak evidence that all women fixated for longer on lower-weight bodies, and that participants with higher body dissatisfaction spent less time fixating on lower-weight bodies, contrary to our hypotheses and to previous findings, but this effect was not robust to adjustment for age and body mass index. This lack of replication suggests this association is not robust in non-clinical populations. Instead, an overall bias towards lower-weight bodies could contribute to higher levels of body dissatisfaction and risk of mental health problems in younger women. Future studies measuring attentional biases in realistic settings and in clinical populations with eating disorder symptoms are needed.
SN - 2054-5703
ER -