Recovering from an Eating Disorder in a Society that Loves Fat Shaming (and Dieting)

Is ED recovery easier when your body is “normative or stereotypically desirable”? The anon asking the question implied that recovery could be more difficult because “an obese person … will never stop hearing hearing extremely triggering stuff about their body type.” Anon asked, “Have there been any studies on this?” Andrea tackled this question in her last post (it might be helpful to read it first if you haven’t yet); in this post, I will expand on my original answer.

Assuming anon meant, “Have there been anything studies assessing whether recovery is harder for individuals who do not fit the normative body type (because of fat phobia/fat shaming/diet culture)?” Then, my answer is: Not really, or at least I couldn’t find anything evaluating this question directly.

I was only able to find a few studies commenting on the history of overweight or obesity as a predictor of recovery/treatment outcome (but there are probably more):

• Hergenroeder et al. (2014) reported that, among 218 adolescents admitted to inpatient and outpatient services, “premorbid obesity was unrelated to outcome.”
• Ricca et

You May Also Like:

1. Factors Associated with Recovery from Anorexia Nervosa
2. Binge Eating: When Should We Call It An “Addiction”?
3. Unpacking Recovery Part 5: Clinical Recovery Without a Clinic?

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