Unwanted intrusive cognitions constitute the normal variant of clinically significant intrusive cognitions found in disorders such as obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD) and eating disorders (EDs). This study investigates whether individuals who are vulnerable to OCD or EDs experience more intrusions than people with no vulnerability to these disorders, and it examines the consequences of obsessional (OITs) and eating disorder (EDITs) intrusions in the same individuals, taking into account their susceptibility to OCD, EDs or neither of the two. From a sample of 922 participants, three groups were formed: risk of OCD (n = 92), risk of EDs (n = 41) and a no‐risk group (n = 100). EDITs were more frequent than OITs in the two risk groups. Within‐group comparisons showed that in the OCD‐risk group, the OIT had more negative consequences (interference, emotional distress, dysfunctional appraisals and neutralizing strategies) than the EDIT, whereas in the ED‐risk group, the OIT and the EDIT instigated similar negative consequences. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.