Correlates of body dissatisfaction and eating disorder symptoms in transgender and gender diverse populations: A systematic review.

Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people face disproportionately high risk for body image concerns and disordered eating/eating disorders. However, strong explanatory models that integrate risk and protective factors specific to this population remain limited. This study addressed this gap through a systematic review of literature on body image concerns and disordered eating among TGD people. A systematic search identified 79 studies, with sample sizes ranging from single case studies to 3388 participants. Factors examined were grouped into sociocultural influences, stigma and discrimination, gender dysphoria, and demographic and psychological characteristics. Narrative synthesis revealed that stigma and discrimination were consistently associated with greater body image concerns and disordered eating symptoms, while gender dysphoria was similarly linked to poorer outcomes. Associations with sociocultural factors were robust for disordered eating but less consistent for body image concerns, and findings for demographic and psychological factors were mixed. Together, these findings underscore the importance of incorporating multiple levels of influence into explanatory models for body image concerns and disordered eating/eating disorders in TGD populations and highlight the need for future research that includes protective factors, validated measures for TGD individuals, and more diverse samples across geographic, demographic, and economic contexts.