Caloric consumption and activity levels after weight recovery in anorexia nervosa: A prolonged delay in normalization

✍ Scribed by Kaye, Walter H. ;Gwirtsman, Harry ;George, Ted ;Ebert, Michael H. ;Petersen, Rosemary

• Book ID: 102676966
• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1986
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 746 KB
• Volume: 5
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0276-3478
• DOI: 10.1002/1098-108x(198603)5:3<489::aid-eat2260050307>3.0.co;2-r

✦ Synopsis

In the 2 to 6 weeks after completion of refeeding and termination of a weight restoration program, patients with anorexia nervosa required greater than normal caloric intake to maintain a stable weight and had elevated levels of activity. By contrast, such patients studied 6 months or longer after weight recovery had normal caloric intake and activity levels. The prolonged delay in normalization of caloric intake and activity is mirrored by the slow resolution to normal of the neuroendocrine dysregulation that characterizes this disorder. This suggests that treatment for weight maintenance in anorexia nervosa should be extended aggressively for months after the return of a healthy weight so as to restore normal neuroendocrinc function and thereby enhance the likelihood of permanent recovery.

Anorexia nervosa is a disorder with a significant rate of morbidity and mortality. After weight restoration, about 50% of patients with an-