IMPROVED EATING BEHAVIOR IN EATING-DISORDERED INPATIENTS AFTER TREATMENT - DOCUMENTATION IN A NATURALISTIC SETTING

Objective: Abnormalities of eating behavior are definitional component s of eating disorders (ED), but are seldom observed directly. This stu dy assessed abnormalities of eating behavior in ED patients before tre atment and documented changes after multidisciplinary treatment. Metho d: Thirty-three ED patients (13 ANR, 10 ANB, 10 BN) and 10 controls se lected a lunch meal in a cafeteria before and after treatment with ene rgy intake (kilocalories) and macronutrients covertly observed. Visual analog scales (VAS) measured hunger and satiety. Results: Before trea tment, all ED patient groups experienced low hunger and high fullness, compared to controls. After treatment, hunger increased and satiety d ecreased. ANR patients, after treatment, increased energy intake from 366 to 916.5 kcal (p = .001), while BN patients increased from 409.9 t o 663 kcal (p = .03). ANB nonsignificantly increased. ANR chose signif icantly more fats (22.7% to 36.2%, p = .05). Discussion: Treatment par tially normalizes pre-meal hunger and satiety in ED patients and signi ficantly improves eating behavior (total energy intake and fat content ) in ANR and BN patients. Reasons for nonsignificant changes in ANB ar e not obvious. We recommend documentation of eating behavior by simple , inexpensive, observational methods in a naturalistic setting before and after treatment of ED patients. (C) 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc .