Acute Activity Urges Predict Lower Early Weight Gain During Inpatient Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Behavioral Medicine

Background:

• Early weight gain is crucial for favorable outcomes in anorexia nervosa (AN) treatment.
• Activity urges, a drive for physical activity, are suspected to impede weight gain but their prognostic value is under-researched.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if acute activity urges at the start of inpatient treatment predict weight gain within the first two weeks in adults with AN.
• To explore the prognostic role of activity urges in anorexia nervosa treatment.

Main Methods:

• Adult patients (N=53) with AN completed an activity urges questionnaire upon admission.
• Weight changes were monitored during the initial two weeks of inpatient treatment.
• Regression and mediation analyses controlled for BMI, age, and AN subtype.

Main Results:

• Higher state activity urges at treatment onset were significantly associated with lower initial weight gain.
• Mediation analysis indicated that reduced early weight gain linked higher activity urges to lower discharge weights.
• A proposed activity urge cutoff of 2.76 can differentiate between optimal and suboptimal initial weight gain.

Conclusions:

• State activity urges are a significant predictor of poor initial weight gain in anorexia nervosa patients.
• Activity urges may serve as a prognostic factor, informing strategies for improving weight restoration in AN treatment.
• Understanding and potentially managing activity urges could enhance treatment efficacy for anorexia nervosa.