ABSTRACT
Interoceptive awareness can be disrupted in various ways. With depression, which is often associated with disordered eating, interoceptive awareness can be blunted (Wiebking et al., 2014). Theory and research also points to self-objectification decreasing interoceptive awareness, the latter then mediating self-objectification and disordered eating concerns and depression (Myers & Crowther, 2008; Peat & Muehlenkamp, 2011; Tylka & Hill, 2004). In other words, self-objectification has been shown to decrease interoceptive awareness and decreased interoceptive awareness has then been shown to increase disordered eating concerns and depression. Breaking down these associations further, disordered eating may function as a coping strategy in response to depression. This is supported by research implicating interoceptive awareness as a mediator between negative affect and overeating (van Strien, Engels, van Leeuwe, & Snoek, 2005).
