A body? Who cares?!: Examining the relationships between body neutrality, executive functions, and disordered eating

Abstract

The current study assessed how elements of body neutrality, body compassion, functional appreciation, and body image flexibility, were associated with executive dysfunction and disordered eating symptoms. Participants recruited from the University of New Brunswick and the public completed measures of disordered eating, body neutrality, psychological flexibility, and self-reported and performance-based executive functioning. Overall, body kindness and motivated action, which are elements of body compassion, were the main predictors of disordered eating behaviours. Self-report measures of executive dysfunction but not performance-based measures emerged as significant correlates and predictors of disordered eating scores. Body kindness and motivated action mediated the relationship between self-reported executive dysfunction and disordered eating. The results did not support the definition of body neutrality brought forth by researchers and rather places emphasis on the importance of a kind attitude towards one’s body and acting in line with that belief.