Belief in societal body ideals drops to normal levels only when anorexia symptoms fully disappear.

People often pick up society's biases about weight and thinness. Researchers studied women with active anorexia, women who considered themselves recovered, and women with no eating disorder history. The women answered questions about eating disorder symptoms and how deeply they believed these biases. Those who only said they were recovered still held many of the biases. But those whose symptoms were actually gone held no more bias than women who never had an eating disorder.

Why it matters

Many people with anorexia relapse after treatment finishes. Knowing that harmful cultural beliefs about weight linger in people who only feel partly recovered gives therapists a specific target to focus on during aftercare.

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