RESEARCH ARTICLE Analysis of Attentional Bias towards Attractive and Unattractive Body Regions among Overweight Males and Females: An Eye-Movement Study

Background Body image distortion is highly prevalent among overweight individuals. Whilst there is evi-dence that body-dissatisfied women and those suffering from disordered eating show a negative attentional bias towards their own unattractive body parts and others ’ attractive body parts, little is known about visual attention patterns in the area of obesity and with respect to males. Since eating disorders and obesity share common features in terms of dis-torted body image and body dissatisfaction, the aim of this study was to examine whether overweight men and women show a similar attentional bias. Methods/Design We analyzed eye movements in 30 overweight individuals (18 females) and 28 normal-weight individuals (16 females) with respect to the participants ’ own pictures as well as gen-der- and BMI-matched control pictures (front and back view). Additionally, we assessed body image and disordered eating using validated questionnaires. Discussion The overweight sample rated their own body as less attractive and showed a more dis-turbed body image. Contrary to our assumptions, they focused significantly longer on attrac-tive compared to unattractive regions of both their own and the control body. For one’s own body, this was more pronounced for women. A higher weight status and more frequent body checking predicted attentional bias towards attractive body parts. We found that over-weight adults exhibit an unexpected and stable pattern of selective attention, with a distinc-tive focus on their own attractive body regions despite higher levels of body dissatisfaction. This positive attentional bias may either be an indicator of a more pronounced pattern o