Spending time with people who aren't involved with their bodies can improve your own eating habits and body image, according to researchers at the University of Waterloo. In a new study, researchers examined how social interactions affect body image. They found that in addition to the previous findings that interacting with people who were preoccupied with their body image was harmful, that spending time with people who were not focused on the body had a positive impact.
In the study, researchers asked 92 female college students ages 17 to 25 to keep a journal for seven consecutive days and reflect on their interactions with body- and non-body-oriented people. The study measured the frequency of participants' daily interactions with body-oriented and non-body-oriented others, their level of body esteem, meaning how much someone values their body regardless of size or shape and body satisfaction, and whether they ate intuitively in alignment with their hunger and appetite. crave rather than fixate on their nutrition and weight goals.
The researchers also found that spending more time with non-body-focused individuals may be beneficial in protecting against disordered eating and promoting more intuitive eating.
"If more women want to focus less on their weight/shape, there could be a ripple effect that shifts social norms for women's body image in a positive direction," the researcher said. “It's also important for women to know that they have the ability to positively influence those around them through their relationship to their own bodies.”
