Swedish Study Shows Adolescent Anorexia Disrupts Long-Term BMI Patterns
A new Swedish study has discovered that weight measurements taken from early childhood do not seem to predict body mass index (BMI) 30 years after the onset of anorexia nervosa (AN) during adolescence.
This calls into question antecedent assumptions regarding how early-life weight factors may affect long-term outcomes in those individuals who have experienced this eating disorder.
The study led by a group of researchers at the Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre (GNC), University of Gothenburg, Sweden, followed 51 individuals diagnosed with AN during their teenage years in 1985. By utilising data from birth records and school nurse charts, the researchers investigated whether or not early weight-related measurements, such as the ponderal index (a measure of body composition during infancy) and childhood BMI adjusted for age and sex, could predict the BMI of an individual 30 years later.
Early Weight Measurements Offer Little Predictive Value
Surprisingly, none of the five variables analysed in the study showed a strong association with BMI outcomes 30 years after the onset of AN. However, in a control group of healthy individuals matched for gender, age, and school, the ponderal index at birth proved to be a reliable predictor of BMI at both 18 and 30 years of age.
The study’s findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal Eating Behaviors this month, indicate that AN during teenage years disrupts long-term BMI patterns. According to the Swedish researchers, this disruption may result in a weight status that is lower than anticipated later in life, following recovery from the eating disorder.
Implications for Clinical Practice and Patient Reassurance
"This finding is meaningful for clinicians", says co-author Sandra Rydberg Dobrescu, PhD student at the Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre. "Our outcomes could help lessen patients' fear of excessive weight gain after AN recovery, as the study revealed no such weight trends based on the long-term weight trajectories in individuals who have experienced AN.”
AN develops when an individual with a genetic predisposition for eating disorder behaviours is affected by environmental factors and sociocultural factors. Anorexia nervosa is a serious eating disorder which most often has its onset during the teenage years. It is characterised by an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted body image, leading to a significant weight loss and other substantial health conditions. Understanding the long-term effects of the disorder is of utmost importance for developing better treatments and interventions as well as support strategies.
This study provides valuables insights, particularly for clinical professionals working with individuals recovering from adolescent-onset anorexia nervosa. “By demonstrating that early weight measurements do not dictate long-term outcomes for this group, it may provide some reassurance to patients who are worried about achieving a healthy weight in their recovery process,” explains PhD student Sandra Rydberg Dobrescu.
Goldberg P, Dobrescu SR, Gillberg C, Gillberg C, Råstam M, Lowe M, Wentz E. Do premorbid weight parameters predict BMI 30 years after adolescent-onset anorexia nervosa? Eat Behav. 2024 Oct 11;55:101928. doi: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2024.101928. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39413668.
TEXT BY: ANNA SPYROU
Peter Goldberg 1 , Sandra Rydberg Dobrescu 2 , Carina Gillberg 2 , Christopher Gillberg 3 , Maria Råstam 4 , Michael Lowe 5 , Elisabet Wentz 6
1 Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
2 Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
3 Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Glasgow, UK.
4 Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Lund University, Sweden.
5 Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States of America; The Renfrew Center for Eating Disorders, Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.
6 Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
