Weight suppression predicts weight change over 5 years in bulimia nervosa.
Recent studies suggest that weight suppression (WS), defined as the discrepancy between current and highest past weight, predicts short-term weight gain in bulimia nervosa (BN) during treatment. The current study was designed to build on this preliminary work by examining the relation between WS and long-term weight change in BN. Treatment-seeking women (N=97) with DSM-IV BN participated in a naturalistic longitudinal follow-up study of eating disorders. At intake, height and weight were measured and highest past weight was assessed. Self-reported weights were collected every 6 months for 5 years. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) estimated growth curves for weight change over time. Significant inter-person variability was detected for intercepts and slopes (P<0.001) so both were treated as random effects. Participants' weights increased over the study course, moderated by baseline WS (P<0.001), such that higher WS predicted more rapid weight gain. Weight change was not associated with entry weight, height, or highest-ever weight, suggesting that WS per se predicted weight change. These findings complement previous short-term studies in BN by demonstrating that WS predicts weight gain over 5 years. Because weight gain could spur radical dieting that maintains BN, these results have important treatment implications.
Herzog
David B
DB
Harris Center, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 2 Longfellow Place, Ste 200, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Thomas
J Graham
JG
Kass
Andrea E
AE
Eddy
Kamryn T
KT
Franko
Debra L
DL
Lowe
Michael R
MR
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
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