The effect of exercise, cognitive therapy, and nutritional counseling in treating bulimia nervosa

The aim of this treatment study on bulimia nervosa was (i) to examine the effect of physical exercise as an experimental treatment condition against the well-documented effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and (ii) to compare the effect of CBT versus the effect of nutritional advice as one...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medicine and science in sports and exercise 2002-02, Vol.34 (2), p.190-195
Main Authors: SUNDGOT-BORGEN, Jorunn, ROSENVINGE, Jan H, BAHR, Roald, SCHNEIDER, Laila Sundgot
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Anthropometry
Biological and medical sciences
Bulimia
Bulimia - therapy
Cathartics
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - methods
Counseling - methods
Eating behavior disorders
Exercise Therapy - methods
Female
Humans
Medical sciences
Nutritional Sciences - education
Oxygen Consumption
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Reference Values
Substance-Related Disorders
Treatment Outcome
Vomiting
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Summary:The aim of this treatment study on bulimia nervosa was (i) to examine the effect of physical exercise as an experimental treatment condition against the well-documented effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and (ii) to compare the effect of CBT versus the effect of nutritional advice as one single treatment component of CBT. Normal weight female bulimic patients aged 18-29 yr were randomly assigned to a physical exercise program (N = 15), CBT (N = 16), nutritional advice (N = 17), or a waiting list control group (N = 16). Seventeen healthy female control subjects were also included. Treatment effects were determined by the frequency of binge eating and purging, scores on the Eating Disorder Inventory subscales "Drive for thinness," "Bulimia," and "Body dissatisfaction" and by a clinical interview to measure symptom severity. Assessments were made before and after treatment and at 6- and 18-month follow-up after the end of treatment. Nutritional counseling did not prove more effective than CBT. Physical exercise appeared more effective than CBT in reducing pursuit of thinness; change in body composition; aerobic fitness; and frequency of bingeing, purging, and laxative abuse. Physical exercise is important in the treatment of normal weight bulimic patients. Further studies should address possible additive effects of CBT and physical exercise.
ISSN:0195-9131
1530-0315
DOI:10.1097/00005768-200202000-00002