Using Science, Advocacy, and a Global Village to Change Body Image and Prevent Eating Disorders: An Invited Narrative Review of the Body Project
- 1Trinity University San Antonio Texas USA
- 2Western Washington University Bellingham Washington USA
Abstract
Objective: The Body Project is a dissonance‐based body image intervention that was originally developed to prevent the onset of eating disorders. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the key scientific Body Project findings along with a discussion of implementation successes and approaches as well as ongoing questions.
Method: This is an invited narrative review.
Results: The Body Project is backed by significant efficacy and effectiveness research and has been found to reduce internalization of the appearance‐ideal, body dissatisfaction, negative mood, dieting, and continuous measures of eating disorder pathology. Some variants have also been found to reduce onset of eating disorders, thus making the Body Project a true eating disorders prevention program. Despite this, many communities choose to implement the Body Project primarily for its effectiveness at improving body image under a wide range of circumstances.
Discussion: Although the mental health field broadly has struggled to translate efficacy and effectiveness research into widespread adoption of evidence‐based programs, an informal global village comprised of researchers, community partners, and clinicians has collectively worked together to successfully implement the Body Project on a very large scale. It offers numerous lessons about the importance of theory and research in intervention development as well as the potential of community participatory research. Future directions include novel and cultural adaptations to allow flexible Body Project implementation in new contexts.
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BibTeX
@article{becker2026using,
title = {{Using Science, Advocacy, and a Global Village to Change Body Image and Prevent Eating Disorders: An Invited Narrative Review of the Body Project}},
author = {Carolyn Black Becker and Anna Ciao},
journal = {The International Journal of Eating Disorders},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1002/eat.70179},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.70179},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Using Science, Advocacy, and a Global Village to Change Body Image and Prevent Eating Disorders: An Invited Narrative Review of the Body Project
AU - Carolyn Black Becker
AU - Anna Ciao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/26
JO - The International Journal of Eating Disorders
DO - 10.1002/eat.70179
UR - https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.70179
AB - Objective: The Body Project is a dissonance‐based body image intervention that was originally developed to prevent the onset of eating disorders. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the key scientific Body Project findings along with a discussion of implementation successes and approaches as well as ongoing questions. Method: This is an invited narrative review. Results: The Body Project is backed by significant efficacy and effectiveness research and has been found to reduce internalization of the appearance‐ideal, body dissatisfaction, negative mood, dieting, and continuous measures of eating disorder pathology. Some variants have also been found to reduce onset of eating disorders, thus making the Body Project a true eating disorders prevention program. Despite this, many communities choose to implement the Body Project primarily for its effectiveness at improving body image under a wide range of circumstances. Discussion: Although the mental health field broadly has struggled to translate efficacy and effectiveness research into widespread adoption of evidence‐based programs, an informal global village comprised of researchers, community partners, and clinicians has collectively worked together to successfully implement the Body Project on a very large scale. It offers numerous lessons about the importance of theory and research in intervention development as well as the potential of community participatory research. Future directions include novel and cultural adaptations to allow flexible Body Project implementation in new contexts.
SN - 0276-3478
SN - 1098-108X
ER -