My senior thesis project looks to see whether a negative body mindset acts as a mediator between Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and eating disorders. PCOS is a condition hallmarked by insulin insensitivity and a hormonal imbalance. Due to insulin insensitivity, women with this condition tend to gain weight or become obese. I believe that because of this rapid weight gain, individuals may develop a more negative body mindset in wanting to lose the weight and therefore turn to unhealthy habits such as eating disorders. The purpose of conducting this study is not only to bring awareness to the condition, but also because PCOS affects a large number of women across the world.

 

My project will survey women between the ages of 18-40 using a Qualtrics survey that incorporates demographic questions, open-ended qualitative questions, and three quantitative scales (the Eating Disorder scale, the PCOS scale, and the body mindset scale). I hypothesize that having a negative body mindset partially explains eating disorder symptoms in women with PCOS. I think the results of this study could be important in how physicians treat this syndrome, and I hope that my study can help kickstart more research in something I consider a very important topic.