Nervous anorexia is an eating disorder that involves body image distortion and includes, among other characteristics, morbid fear of putting on weight and a distorted form of performing dietary restrictions. The aim of the present work was to understand the mechanisms underlying body image formation in nervous anorexia as well as to infer meanings manifested in the construction of obesity in the anorexic body. The methodology adopted comprised the ethnographical approach and the biographical method, including a collection of life stories of anorexic subjects. It is a descriptive and interpretive work about body image in nervous anorexia, thus interacting both with Sociology and Psychology. After analyzing the contents of the statements one realizes that body image construction is not a one-person job, but rather the result of the interaction between the individual and his/her social world. The individual makes use of other images in order to define his/her own body image, a process that also implies a relational exchange between individuals.
nervous anorexia; body image; body