Understanding Body Checking: What It Is and How to Overcome It
Discover what body checking entails, its negative impact on mental health, especially for those with eating disorders, and effective ways to break free from this harmful habit.
Dr. Liliana Almeida, PhD, serves as a Clinical Supervisor at Rutgers University, specializing in individual, group, and family therapy.
What Exactly Is Body Checking?
Body checking refers to the repetitive behavior of scrutinizing your body’s size, shape, weight, or appearance. This can occur during everyday moments like sitting, showering, or looking in a mirror. It is particularly prevalent among individuals struggling with eating disorders.
While occasional body checking is normal, it can escalate into compulsive and persistent actions. Many people occasionally examine their bodies, but when this behavior becomes frequent and anxiety-driven, it may indicate underlying psychological concerns.
This article outlines typical signs of body checking, its adverse effects on mental well-being, and practical strategies to reduce or manage this behavior effectively.
Recognizing Body Checking Behaviors
You might be engaging in body checking without realizing it. Common examples include:
- Pinching or squeezing your stomach
- Feeling your bones to assess body fat
- Frequently stepping on the scale
- Focusing intensely on specific body parts in the mirror
Additionally, seeking others’ opinions about your body or comparing your physique to others are forms of body checking. Some individuals may perform these checks hundreds of times daily, significantly influencing their body image and self-esteem.
Body checking often feels compulsive, driven by a need to reassure oneself about weight or shape changes. It can become an automatic, hard-to-control habit.
Although body checking is sometimes harmless, it becomes problematic when it:
- Triggers distress or negative emotions
- Leads to social withdrawal
- Interferes with daily functioning at home, work, school, or relationships
- Promotes disordered or restrictive eating patterns
- Exacerbates symptoms of eating disorders
If body checking concerns you, seeking guidance from a healthcare professional or therapist can provide valuable support and treatment options.
Summary
Body checking involves closely monitoring your body’s physical traits. While common, it becomes harmful when it fosters dissatisfaction or contributes to unhealthy eating behaviors.
The Consequences of Compulsive Body Checking
Research indicates that compulsive body checking intensifies the overemphasis on body shape and weight, a core factor in the development and worsening of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and other eating disorders.
Although many people occasionally check their bodies, this behavior is more frequent and intense among those with eating disorders.
Body checking might be an effort to gain comfort regarding disliked body areas, but rather than relieving anxiety, it often leads to:
- Distorted views of body size, shape, or weight
- Increased feelings of losing control over body image
- Heightened dissatisfaction with appearance
- Elevated anxiety and depressive symptoms
- Mood disturbances
A 2018 comprehensive review found that individuals engaging in compulsive body checking reported lower body satisfaction and experienced more negative emotions afterward.
While body checking affects all genders, studies suggest women may experience greater dissatisfaction following these behaviors. A 2019 study highlighted that women were more prone to body dissatisfaction post body checking than men.
Moreover, body checking can perpetuate harmful eating behaviors, with evidence showing increased restrictive eating on the days when body checking occurs and afterward, potentially creating a vicious cycle.
Summary
Compulsive body checking is linked to distorted body image, reduced satisfaction with one’s appearance, and heightened anxiety and depression.
Effective Strategies to Minimize Body Checking
Tackling body checking can reduce worries about body shape and weight and support recovery from eating disorders. Conversely, ignoring these behaviors may hinder healing.
The initial step to overcoming body checking is increasing awareness of how often and when it happens. The following techniques can assist in this process.
Monitor Your Body Checking Habits
Dedicate one full day each week to consciously observe and record each instance of body checking. Keeping a journal or notes can be helpful.
For some, body checking may occur so frequently that tracking every episode is challenging; in such cases, simply noting the general frequency is sufficient.
This practice aims to build awareness about the prevalence of body checking and its impact on your daily life.
Question Your Body Checking Impulses
After recognizing your body checking patterns, begin to challenge each urge by asking yourself:
- What am I trying to find out?
- Is this behavior helping me?
- Has anything really changed since the last check?
These questions may not always have clear answers, but consistently questioning your impulses can reduce the frequency of body checking over time.
The Risks of Avoiding Your Body Entirely
It’s important to avoid swinging to the opposite extreme of body avoidance. Completely ignoring your body’s appearance can also harm self-perception and evaluation.
Striking a healthy balance between body checking and avoidance is crucial.
For example, checking your outfit after dressing is normal to ensure proper fit, and weighing yourself once a week can be a reasonable middle ground between obsessive weighing and total avoidance.
Frequent weighing beyond once weekly can increase unhealthy fixation due to natural daily weight fluctuations caused by hydration, digestion, and other factors.
Infrequent, non-compulsive body checking behaviors are generally not problematic.
Final Thoughts from Verywell
Although body checking can undermine recovery from eating disorders, trying to manage it alone may not always be effective.
If body checking causes distress, seeking support from a mental health professional is recommended.
For those affected by eating disorders, the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) Helpline is available at 1-800-931-2237 for assistance.
Additional mental health resources can be found in our National Helpline Database.
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References
Verywell Mind relies on reputable, peer-reviewed sources to ensure accurate and trustworthy content. Learn more about our editorial standards.
- Calugi S, El Ghoch M, Dalle Grave R. Body checking behaviors in anorexia nervosa. Int J Eat Disord. 2017;50(4):437-441. doi:10.1002/eat.22677
- Kraus N, Lindenberg J, Zeeck A, Kosfelder J, Vocks S. Immediate effects of body checking behaviour on negative and positive emotions in women with eating disorders: An ecological momentary assessment approach. Eur Eat Disord Rev. 2015;23(5):399-407. doi:10.1002/erv.2380
- Murphy R, Straebler S, Cooper Z, Fairburn CG. Cognitive behavioral therapy for eating disorders. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2010;33(3):611-627. doi:10.1016/j.psc.2010.04.004
- Walker DC, White EK, Srinivasan VJ. A meta-analysis of the relationships between body checking, body image avoidance, body image dissatisfaction, mood, and disordered eating. Int J Eat Disord. 2018;51(8):745-770. doi:10.1002/eat.22867
- Tanck JA, Vocks S, Riesselmann B, Waldorf M. Gender differences in affective and evaluative responses to experimentally induced body checking of positively and negatively valenced body parts. Front Psychol. 2019;10:1058. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01058
- Lavender JM, Wonderlich SA, Crosby RD, et al. A naturalistic examination of body checking and dietary restriction in women with anorexia nervosa. Behav Res Ther. 2013;51(8):507-511. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2013.05.004
Authored by Liliana Almeida, M.A.
Dr. Liliana Almeida, PhD, is a Clinical Supervisor at Rutgers University, offering psychotherapy for individuals, groups, and families.
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