Methodology for the objective measurement of body image

An apparatus for the objective measurement of the conscious aspects of body image is described. The method involves photographing subjects and scanning the photograph with a video camera. The subject adjusts a control that varies the image on a television monitor to give a representative continuum from endomorphy through mesomorphy to ectomorphy without distorting height. A permanent photographc record of the subject's judgment can be taken. A permanent graphic record of the accuracy of the judgment and of the judgment time can be registered by a pen recorder as impulses from the control are relayed as the subject adjusts the dial. Data on the body image of a group of 60 obese females, 25 hospitalized anorexics, and 50 controls are presented. Implications for therapy and further research are discussed.