Embodied experience in eating disorders: a qualitative meta-synthesis

Introduction Eating disorders are predominantly framed within models that focus on disturbances in body image, dysfunctional thoughts, and disordered eating behaviors. However, qualitative research shows that the disorder cannot be fully understood without considering the lived experience of the body, implicated in processes of identity, emotional regulation, interpersonal relationships, and prognosis. This meta- synthesis examines embodied experience in feeding and eating disorders from a first-person perspective to identify its recurrent configurations and clarify its role in psychopathological and clinical processes. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted across major databases Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed using Covidence, yielding 11,591 records. After removing 1,869 duplicates, 9,722 studies were screened and 562 articles assessed for eligibility. 141 studies were included in the qualitative meta-synthesis based on predefined inclusion criteria. From these studies, first-person accounts of bodily experience were extracted and analyzed using Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR). Results The analysis identified five main dimensions of embodied experience in feeding and eating disorders: (1) Embodiment and identity processes (the body contributes to self-definition and self-worth); (2) Emotion regulation and coping functions (symptom-related behaviors provide containment, avoidance, and affect modulation); (3) Control and agency (the body is experienced as a domain of mastery in vulnerability); (4) Relational and interpersonal processes (experiences of misrecognition and interpersonal disconnection); (5) Embodied expression of internal states (the body communicates distress not easily verbalized). Discussion The findings suggest that embodied experience in feeding and eating disorders cannot be reduced to a perceptual disturbance but constitutes a dynamic field through which processes of identity, affect regulation, control, and relational meaning are articulated. These results indicate that embodied experience is closely related to clinical outcomes suggesting a role in prognostic processes. Moreover, the findings highlight the need for therapeutic interventions addressing the embodied dimension of experience, moving beyond a solely symptom-focused perspective and opening toward a broader understanding of subjectivation processes in the disorder.