Body image disturbance is an important feature of Anorexia Nervosa (AN). Some researchers have argued that body image disturbance is not just a symptom of AN, but plays a causal role in the development, persistence, and relapse of AN. Our aim was to systematically review the existing empirical evidence concerning the role of the cognitive-affective, perceptual, and behavioral components of body image disturbance in AN. 46 studies fulfilled eligibility criteria reporting about 4928 participants with AN. There is some evidence suggesting that body image disturbance is related to the course of AN. However, experimental studies were missing and operationalizations of body image constructs and AN outcome measures varied greatly across studies. Therefore, on the basis of the available empirical data, it remained unclear whether body image disturbance is indeed a causal risk factor for AN. For future studies, it is crucial to use more consistent terminology and more specific and precise definitions of body image constructs as well as experimental designs, adequately powered samples, and well-validated measures. Altogether, this would set the stage to generate the high-quality data that are necessary to clarify the role of body image disturbance in the onset, maintenance and relapse of AN.

身体图像障碍是神经性厌食症（AN）的重​​要特征。一些研究人员认为，身体图像障碍不仅是AN的症状，而且在AN的发生，持续和复发中起着因果作用。我们的目的是系统地复习有关AN中身体图像干扰的认知情感，知觉和行为成分的作用的现有经验证据。46项研究符合入选标准，报告了约4928名AN患者。有证据表明，人体影像障碍与AN的病程有关。然而，缺少实验研究，并且身体图像构造和AN结果指标的可操作性在各个研究中差异很大。因此，根据现有的经验数据，尚不清楚人体图像干扰是否确实是AN的致病危险因素。对于以后的研究，至关重要的是要使用更一致的术语，更具体和精确的人体图像构造定义，实验设计，功能强大的样本以及经过充分验证的措施。总而言之，这将为生成高质量数据奠定基础，这些数据对于阐明人体影像紊乱在AN发作，维持和复发中的作用是必不可少的。