A critical word here is kāmasaññā and its translation. Consider AN9.31.
Paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ samāpannassa kāmasaññā niruddhā hoti
If we translate kāmasaññā as “sensuality” the body need not disappear. What disappears is the delight of the senses, the 
part of the senses.
When one has attained the first jhāna, the perception of sensuality has been stopped
If, however, we translate kāmasaññā as “sensual perception”, the sensory body may need to disappear. I.e., the bodily sensations disappear.
For someone who has attained the first absorption, sensual perceptions have ceased
These translations therefore provide a spectrum of interpretation. The pivotal word here is Kāma
masculine neuter to desire.
- Objective : pleasantness, pleasure-giving, an object of sensual enjoyment.
- Subjective : (a) enjoyment, pleasure on occasion of sense, (b) sense-desire.
Buddhist commentators express 1 and 2 by kāmiyatī ti kāmo, and kametī ti kāmo Cpd. 81, n.2. Kāma as sense-desire and enjoyment plus objects of the same is a collective name for all but the very higher or refined conditions of life. The kāma-bhava or-loka (worlds of sensedesire) includes 4 of the 5 modes (gatis) of existence and part of the fifth or deva-loka. See Bhava. The term is not found analyzed till the later books of the Canon are consulted, thus, Mnd.1 distinguishes:
- vatthukāmā : desires relating to a base, i.e. physical organ or external object, and
- kilesakāmā : desire considered subjective….
Notably, we all have had personal experiences for both of these interpretations with regard to the five senses:
- When we are dreaming, our immediate sensual perception diminishes quite a lot.
- When we experience a new object, we have neither a pleasant or unpleasant feeling (yes, I know we have a neutral feeling, but it isn’t sensual in the sense).
The absorptions are tools for chipping away at the defilements. What’s important is doing the work. Some tools are more efficient than others, but they do no good on their own sitting on the shelf in bliss.