Is there clinical consensus in defining weight restoration for adolescents with anorexia nervosa?

ABSTRACT

Successful outcome for adolescent anorexia nervosa includes achieving weight restoration. Despite the importance of this measurement, there are significant discrepancies in the field on how to quantify expected body weight (EBW). A survey was sent to 113 child and adolescent eating disorder treatment providers inquiring about the methods used to determine weight restoration in their clinical practice. Although 40.7% used growth curve data, the remaining employed a diverse range of approaches. Providers who specialize in Family-Based Treatment were significantly more likely to use an individualized approach versus considering adolescent preference. Although there is a modicum of endorsement for using growth curves to predict EBW, this is not universal practice and is inconsistent with methods used in treatment studies. The lack of an evidence-based method to calculate EBW—or even a best practice consensus for calculating this number—is a major oversight in the field that requires empirical attention.