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ARS Home » Plains Area » Grand Forks, North Dakota » Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center » Healthy Body Weight Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #297018

Title: Nutritional adequacy of dietary intake in women with anorexia nervosa

Author
item Raatz, Susan
item Jahns, Lisa
item JOHNSON, LUANN - University Of North Dakota
item CROSBY, ROSS - Medical University Of North Dakota
item MITCHELL, JAMES - Medical University Of North Dakota
item CROW, SCOTT - University Of Minnesota
item PETERSON, CAROL - University Of Minnesota
item LEGRANGE, DANIEL - University Of Chicago
item WONDERLICH, STEPHEN - Medical University Of North Dakota

Submitted to: Nutrients
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/6/2015
Publication Date: 5/15/2015
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/60872
Citation: Raatz, S.K., Jahns, L.A., Johnson, L.K., Crosby, R.D., Mitchell, J.E., Crow, S.J., Peterson, C.B., Legrange, D., Wonderlich, S.A. 2015. Nutritional adequacy of dietary intake in women with anorexia nervosa. Nutrients. 7(5):3652-3665.

Interpretive Summary: Understanding nutrient intake of anorexia nervosa (AN) patients is essential for the establishment of dietary treatment. We estimated total energy and nutrient consumption in a group of young women, aged 19 to 30 years, with both restricting and binge purge subtypes of AN participating in an ecological momentary assessment study. Mean energy and nutrient intakes from three 24- hour were compared to the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) and to the reported intakes of a representative group from WWEIA/NHANES 2007-2008. The mean BMI was 17.2 ± 0.1 kg/m2. Reported nutrient intake was insufficient for participants in quartiles 1-3 of both AN subtypes when compared to the DRIs. Reported intake of participants in quartile 4 exceeds energy needs even at very high levels of physical activity. The goal of nutritional intervention in AN patients is attainment of adequate intake to promote a healthy body weight and improve adequacy of the diet. Counseling of AN patients should be directed to total food consumption to improve energy intake and to reduce individual nutritional gaps.

Technical Abstract: Background: Understanding nutrient intake of anorexia nervosa (AN) patients is essential for the establishment of dietary treatment. Design: Women, aged 19 to 30 years, with both restricting and binge purge types of AN, participating in an ecological momentary assessment study, completed three nonconsecutive 24-hour diet recalls. Mean energy and nutrient intakes were stratified by AN type and by quartiles of energy intake and compared to the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) as well as to the reported intakes of a representative group from 2007-2008. Results: The mean BMI of participants was 17.2 ± 0.1 kg/m2. Reported nutrient intake was insufficient for participants in the three lowest quartiles of both AN types when compared to the DRIs. Intake reported by participants in the highest quartile of both types of AN met the nutrient requirements for most nutrients. Reported intake of participants in the highest quartile exceeded energy needs even at estimations of very high levels of physical activity. Conclusions: The goal of nutritional intervention in AN patients is attainment of adequate intake to promote a healthy body weight and improve adequacy of the diet. While counseling of AN patients should be directed to total food consumption to improve energy intake and to reduce individual nutritional gaps. Our data indicate that reported intake in AN may be similar by type which suggests that assessment of dietary intake and physical activity patterns in AN patients is required to design appropriate individualized medical nutrition therapy.