Nearly 460,000 people in Germany suffer from a diagnosed eating disorder. The most common form is anorexia nervosa, also known as anorexia. More than half of those diagnosed are under 18 years old, and significantly more girls than boys are affected.
At the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Tübingen, Simone Behrens is researching how virtual reality (VR) can support patients during treatment. In a specially developed environment, those affected put on a VR headset and experience themselves in a healthy, normal-weight body.
The approach is based on methods from behavioral therapy. Similar to the treatment of phobias, patients are deliberately confronted with a situation that frightens them – in this case, the idea of gaining weight.
Causes are complex
The causes of an eating disorder are complex and individual, as Spektrum der Wissenschaft reports. Societal beauty standards or social media can play a role, but are not considered the sole trigger. More often, issues such as control, self-worth, and coping with stressful life situations underlie an eating disorder. The coronavirus pandemic also led to an increase in case numbers. Experts continue to observe a higher number of affected adolescents and, in some cases, more severe disease progressions.
The VR applications are currently still research prototypes. Before they can be used more widely in clinics, the benefits and financing of the technology need to be further examined. Nevertheless, Behrens sees great potential for technical aids in psychotherapy.
The use of VR in the treatment of anorexia nervosa is thus still in its early stages, but could in the long term become another tool in the therapeutic approach to an illness that primarily affects young people.