Body image disturbance — MRCPsych Paper A MCQ

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ModeratePsychologyBody image disturbanceMRCPsych Paper A

A 17-year-old girl with anorexia nervosa is markedly underweight. During a body-size estimation task, she selects an outline 30% wider than her measured abdomen as the most accurate representation of herself. Her estimates of the dimensions of neutral objects are normal. Which psychological phenomenon best describes this finding?

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Correct answer: C — Body-size overestimation

The correct answer is C, body-size overestimation, representing the perceptual component of body image disturbance. The key discriminator is that she overestimates the dimensions of her own abdomen while estimating neutral objects normally, rather than having a general visual-processing deficit. Body dissatisfaction is an evaluative or affective dislike of one’s appearance and does not itself require inaccurate size estimation. Visual object agnosia causes difficulty recognising visually presented objects, not selective misestimation of one’s body. A somatic delusion is a fixed false belief concerning bodily function or disease rather than the characteristic weight- and shape-related disturbance of anorexia nervosa. Depersonalisation involves an altered sense of self or unreality, not systematic body-size overestimation.

Reference: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Eating disorders: recognition and treatment (NG69), full guideline, section 6.1, 2017; updated 2020. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng69/evidence/full-guideline-pdf-161214767896