Transtornos alimentares em mulheres: um estudo das representações sociais do corpo

Abstract

This work aims at studying the body social representations for women who have been diagnosed with eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and Binge Eating Disorder (BED). The data were collected from 12 people through semi structured interview and qualitative methodology. The interviews were recorded and interpreted based on the Social Representation Theory and the data were subjected to content analysis. The answers were categorized into different groups based on the social, psychological and biological aspects of the body. Therefore it was possible to observe the importance of the body and what women with eating disorders dislike their bodies. As for anorexia, the social representations were associated with fear of getting fat. As for bulimia, they were associated with the clash between a slim body and food. And as for BED, the social representations were associated with hurting the own body through food. We could conclude that the representations women have about their own bodies are dynamic and constan tly built and rebuilt.