Determining treatment goal weights for children and adolescents with anorexia nervosa

One of the challenges faced by paediatric health professionals treating children and adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) is determining the specific weight needed to achieve physical, emotional and cognitive recovery. Clinicians and researchers have struggled to standardize process, methods and terminology around what is now referred to as the 'treatment goal weight' (TGW). This practice point summarizes recommendations drawn from common methods used to determine TGWs in children and adolescents with AN, which are based on both the evidence-based literature and expert consensus. An individualized approach to the determination of the TGW is offered, with some specifics for special clinical situations. Multiple factors inform the process of establishing a TGW for a child or adolescent with AN but individualized attention, especially to premorbid weights, heights, body mass index percentiles, and paediatric growth charts, is essential. The need for ongoing follow-up and regular reassessment in this population is also highlighted.