Assessment of Physical Activity in Anorexia Nervosa and Treatment Outcome

Abstract PURPOSE: To compare objective and subjective assessments of physical activity (PA) in patients with anorexia nervosa and its effect on treatment outcome. METHODS: Both Actiheart (AH) and International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were used to assess PA in 52 female patients with anorexia nervosa during the first week of inpatient treatment. RESULTS: No correspondence between PA estimated by IPAQ, which had a tendency to underestimate PA, and that measured by means of AH emerged. A significant association was, however, found between the change in Eating Disorder Examination global score at the end of the treatment and light physical activity (LPA) measured by AH(beta = -0.12, t = -2.44, P = 0.019), but not that estimated by IPAQ. CONCLUSION: PA in patients with anorexia nervosa is underestimated by subjective assessment when compared with objective measurement. Only time spent in LPA, assessed objectively with AH, showed a negative association with improvement in eating disorder psychopathology.