#BodyShaming—Body Image and Eating Disorders in Older People

Shame is a natural phenomenon and its appearance is associated with an important stage of psychosocial development (according to Erikson—autonomy vs shame/doubt (early childhood)). However, it does not always work constructively and can be destructive to people in case of #BodyShaming. This chapter will focus on analysing this phenomenon and its relationship to body image and eating disorders in older people (more specifically, due to the available literature, the focus has been on individuals from middle and late adulthood). It will present the most important results and conclusions from the literature review, focusing on the keywords listed above. Focusing on this topic seems to be of a high importance because of: (I) contradictory results regarding what is more valued in the body by people getting older—mainly its attractiveness and consistency with the socio-cultural standards of beauty vs. mainly its functionality, (II) the confirmed significant role of body shaming in the formation of eating disorders and body image disturbance in younger age groups and limited knowledge about functioning of older people in this context. This preoccupation with younger people and the lack of consideration of the functioning characteristics of older people significantly impedes the preparation of prevention and intervention programs appropriate for them, including those concerning eating disorders and body image. Knowledge in this area can also help in building motivation in older people to undertake various pro-health behaviours (e.g. physical activity and healthy eating habits), which positively affect well-being and life quality. Therefore, knowing that body shame can also be important in older people, it is worth exploring the mechanisms related to it.