Hospitalized anorexics and resistance training: Impact on body composition and psychological well-being. A preliminary study

Abstract

Ritualised exercise commonly accompanies the clinical presentation of anorexia nervosa (AN) sufferers, but there is a paucity of research on structured exercise as a therapeutic intervention. This study examined the usefulness of resistance training as part of a treatment programme for hospitalized anorexics. The study sample consisted of 21 subjects: seven anorexics participating in the exercise programme, seven non-participating anorexics, and seven subjects unaffected by an eating disorder but who participated in the exercise programme. The results show that resistance training is associated with an improvement in body composition and psychological well-being and, although it does not confer an outcome advantage in this regard, it seems to be a useful adjunct in the treatment of hospitalized anorexics.

Does Resistance Training Improve the Functional Capacity and Well Being of Very Young Anorexic Patients? A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…However, it must be kept in mind that main outcome variables (such as anthropometric data or functional capacity) were similar in the two groups at the start of the intervention. On the other hand, there were several novelties and strong methodological aspects in our randomized controlled trial compared with previous pioneer research in the field using resistance training (also two weekly sessions) in older (>15 years) anorexic patients [10,11]. Our participants underwent a thorough familiarization period before performing the baseline functional and/or strength tests and performed a second test to assess testing reliability.…”

“…In this type of training, muscles contract against an external resistance with the expectation of increases in strength, tone, mass, and/or endurance, for example, using barbells, elastic bands, weight training machines, or own body weight. Szabo and Green [10] showed that, compared with a nonexercising group, the changes in body composition observed in hospitalized anorexic women (mean age, 23 years) during a refeeding protocol were unaffected by an 8-week light resistance training program. The intervention induced significant increases in the knee extensors' peak force of the exercisers compared with controls [11].…”

Exercise and physical therapy help restore body and self in clients with severe anorexia nervosa

“…An eight week light resistance training targeting all major muscle groups and performed twice a week for one hour showed positive effects on the muscular strength of hospitalized individuals with anorexia nervosa (Chantler et al, 2006). Additionally, as shown by Szabo and Green (2002), the training was combined with increased nutritional consumption and improved body composition and psychological well-being in the patients. Moreover, a supervised exercise training at anaerobic threshold level, performed five times weekly for thirty minutes during the recovering phase produced beneficial changes in exercise capacity as well as a reduction in emotional stress in adolescent patients with anorexia nervosa when retested one year after the initial exercise test (Tokumura et al, 2003).…”

“…Assuming patients adhere to their meal plans and treatment programmes, and interventions are of moderate intensity and carefully implemented, exercise interventions appear to have positive effects for medically stable patients, such as increased psychological well-being, reduced anxiety and increased compliance to treatment (Thien et al, 2000;Szabo and Green, 2002;Chantler et al, 2006). A three months graded low impact exercise protocol performed three times weekly improved patients' quality of life, but had moderate impact on measure outcomes such as body mass index and percent body fat (Thien et al, 2000).…”

“…While del Valle et al (2010) found only modest improvements in a three-month intervention study on functional capacity and muscular strength in very young individuals (12 -16 yrs) with anorexia nervosa, Chantler et al (2006) demonstrated that a light resistance training programme, accompanied by monitored re-nutrition, had a positive impact on muscle strength in hospitalized patients with anorexia nervosa (aged 15 -36 yrs). Furthermore, improvements in muscular strength have shown to have positive effects on body composition and psychological well-being (Szabo and Green, 2002), as well as on the ability to perform daily living activities and on overall health and welfare (Chantler et al, 2006). It may also be of some relevance that strength training combined with balance training can reduce the risk of fractures in patients whose postural stability is negatively affected by their anorexia (Pedersen and Saltin, 2015).…”