VIDEOTAPE ASSESSMENT OF CHANGES IN ABERRANT MEAL-TIME BEHAVIORS IN ANOREXIA-NERVOSA AFTER TREATMENT

This study compared meal-time behaviors in patients with anorexia nerv osa to normal-weight controls and the effects of hospital treatment on these behaviors. Ten restricting-anorexics and six normal-weight cont rols were given a standard lunch and asked to eat the entire meal. The ir behaviors were recorded via hidden camera. All participants were te sted twice-anorexics before and after in-patient treatment, and contro ls at similar intervals. Videotapes of these sessions were analysed fo r occurrence and duration of eight categories of non-ingestive behavio rs: food manipulation, food preparation, food moving, non-food manipul ation, concealment, vigilance, passivity and physical activity. Food-i ngestion patterns, including number of bites of food and switches betw een different kinds of food, were also recorded. Results indicated tha t anorexics spent significantly more time than controls in behaviors t hat were directly food-related, and exhibited more vigilance behavior. Pre-treatment anorexics spent significantly more time in these behavi ors than did post-treatment anorexics. Few group differences or treatm ent effects were found in food-ingestion patterns, although there was an indication that both pre-and post-treatment anorexics avoided high- fat foods more than controls did. These results suggest that videotapi ng provides a useful technique for characterizing the behavior associa ted with eating disorders. Further studies should explore whether norm alization of these behaviors is associated with a positive clinical ou tcome. (C) 1998 Academic Press Limited.