Body image in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. A review of the literature.

Wilson et al. (1987) read every paper they could find on body image in anorexia and bulimia.

They wrote a story-style review. They did not run new tests. They simply asked, ‘How are we measuring body image, and do the numbers agree?’

The tools were all over the map. Drawings, mirrors, questionnaires, and video tricks each gave different answers.

No single method lined up with eating severity, so clinicians could not trust one score to guide care.

Burack et al. (2004) later looked at the same mess and said, ‘Pick only the tools that have proof they work.’ Their paper updates F et al. by naming validated scales you can bank on.

Legenbauer et al. (2011) went further. They added ‘static’ photo tests and ‘dynamic’ walk-across tasks to obese clients with binge eating. They showed extra measures can catch hidden distortions.

Simpson et al. (2019) shifted the lens. They tracked autism traits in anorexia inpatients and found those traits stayed flat while body image barely moved. Together the three studies say: measure wider, measure smarter, and do not expect one score to tell the whole story.

If you assess eating disorders, stop grabbing any body-image quiz off the shelf. Use the short list of validated tools that Burack et al. (2004) stamp as solid. Add a quick dynamic task if you serve clients with binge features. Note autism traits if weight refuses to budge. Better measurement means clearer goals and fewer surprises in treatment.