Body image and behavioral economics are deeply intertwined. Negative body image can cause and maintain behavioral economics, and behavioral economics frequently worsens how we feel about our bodies.
How Negative Body Image Drives Behavioral Economics
- Chronic dissatisfaction with physical appearance depletes psychological resources
- Body shame — a particularly painful form of shame — directly drives behavioral economics
- Comparison of body to social standards is a primary behavioral economics trigger
- Body image concerns often involve the same negative self-evaluation patterns as behavioral economics
How Behavioral Economics Affects Body Image
Behavioral Economics can worsen body image through reduced self-care motivation, changes in appetite and weight, and a general negative lens that extends to physical self-perception.
Addressing Body Image and Behavioral Economics Together
- Body neutrality: Not requiring positive body feelings, just reduction of hostility
- Body functionality focus: What your body does vs. how it looks
- Intuitive eating: Reconnecting with hunger and satisfaction cues disrupted by behavioral economics
- Therapy: CBT and ACT effectively address both body image and behavioral economics