A Collaborative and Therapeutic Approach for Measuring the Correct Body Weight in People with Anorexia Nervosa

Abstract

Diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa (AN) include significantly low body weight, fear of weight gain, and body image disturbance. Being severely underweight is associated with physical health risks, for example, electrolyte disturbances, epileptic seizures, cardiac arrhythmias, organ failure, and sudden death. It is also a perpetuating factor of AN. Therefore, the correct measurement of body weight is necessary for safe clinical management of AN. In clinical practice, there may be a requirement to attain a certain target weight before discharge from inpatient treatment or to prevent hospital admission. Schools, universities, and employers sometimes require a minimum body weight depending on the physical demands of the tasks at hand. Understandably, people with AN are therefore tempted to falsify their weight, for example, by water loading or using weights, to circumvent these restrictions and avoid disadvantages resulting from their mental health condition. In this chapter, we consider how to obtain an accurate assessment of body weight in the best possible collaborative, therapeutic, and motivating way.