Fear of Getting Fat captured on MRI

Here is an interesting observation:

Researchers looking for better diagnostic tools for eating disorders screened women to see who was at risk for body image issues.  Once screened, the women were put in an MRI and shown pictures of women of different body size. 

The researchers were surprised to see that when a picture of an overweight female stranger was put in front of the test subject, the part of the brain active when body image issues are present lit up --even in women who seemingly had no real body image issues.  --Sure, the response was not as large as those with known body image issues -- but it lit up no the less.  (and to a much, much greater degree than did the male test subjects under the same conditions).

It just goes to show something we have known for a while -- even the most secure women are susceptible to body image issues -- it's just the culture we live in.

For more information on this study, click here.