Testing Weight History Variables as Predictors of Post-Treatment Weight Change in Individuals with Eating Disorders

Leora Leah Haller

doi:10.17918/00001034

Weight Suppression (WS), which is the difference between highest past weight and current weight, is a well-studied predictor of weight gain in both non-clinical and eating disorder (ED) populations. Other weight variables such as highest historical weight, current body mass index (BMI), and lowest weight reached, deemed weight history variables, have been identified as relevant predictors of weight change and other ED symptomatology. Few studies have evaluated weight rebound, a term used to describe the difference in lowest reported postmorbid weight and current weight but research suggests it may also be a relevant weight history variable. Weight change as it relates to weight history has been evaluated during treatment and longitudinally. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding weight history and weight change at 6-month follow-ups after treatment. Also, since weight history indices are often too highly colinear to include in a single model, they often are not tested simultaneously. This study evaluated the following weight history indices collected at baseline: WS, current BMI, highest reported premorbid BMI, and weight rebound. The current study investigated if the above mentioned weight history variables, tested simultaneously by residualizing colinear terms, predicted weight change from treatment discharge to 6-month follow-up in patients with Anorexia Nervosa (AN, n = 300 ) and Bulimia Nervosa (BN, n = 146). Additionally, prior literature has suggested that developmental weight history (i.e. weight history indices calculated relative to age norms) may be more sensitive measures than traditional weight history variables, therefore a second model for each diagnoses evaluated developmental weight history - developmental WS, zBMI at treatment admission, highest premorbid zBMI, and developmental WR- as a predictor of weight change from discharge to 6-month follow-up. Analyses revealed that both traditional and developmental weight history predicted weight gain at treatment follow-up in the AN sample, however BN models were not significant. Admission BMI and WR contributed significantly in the traditional model, with higher BMI and a lower WR predicting more weight gain. Developmental WR contributed significantly to the developmental model, with a lower developmental WR predicting more weight gain. These findings add to the growing body of literature examining the role of traditional and developmental weight history, highlighting the relevance of WR, on weight change in AN and BN. Future studies are needed to replicate and support these findings.

Testing Weight History Variables as Predictors of Post-Treatment Weight Change in Individuals with Eating Disorders

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Testing Weight History Variables as Predictors of Post-Treatment Weight Change in Individuals with Eating Disorders

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