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Body Project (Dissonance Intervention)

An Evidence-Based Practice

Goal / Mission

The Body Project is a dissonance intervention designed to help women in high school and college resist societal and cultural pressures to conform to an idealized notion of what it means to be 'thin' and to help increase body acceptance. A reduction in thin-ideal internalization should result in reduced use of unhealthy weight-control behaviors, decreased eating disorder symptoms, and overall increase in mood and well-being.

Impact

The Body Project program has yielded numerous significant benefits at posttest and 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years after program implementation. These include significant reductions in body dissatisfaction, bulimic symptoms and psychosocial impairment compared to control group participants.

Results / Accomplishments

The Body Project dissonance intervention reduces eating disorder symptoms, unhealthy dieting, body dissatisfaction, and negative mood. This intervention has also been found to reduce risk for future onset of eating disorders and obesity and may reduce mental health care utilization.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Oregon Research Institute
Primary Contact
Paul Rohde
Oregon Research Institute
1776 Millrace Drive
Eugene, OR 97403-2536
(541) 484-1108
paulr@ori.org
Topics
Health / Physical Activity
Health / Adolescent Health
Health / Mental Health & Mental Disorders
Organization(s)
Oregon Research Institute
For more details
Target Audience
Teens, Women
Coastal Georgia Indicators Coalition