Eating
Disorders
Study Reveals New Treatment Program for Eating Disorders:
Would you Believe Exercise?
Healthy Exercise During Treatment for Anorexia and Bulimia
Contributes to Recovery
(July 7, 2004) -- A study which will be published in "Eating Disorders: The
Journal of Treatment and Prevention," reveals that
anorexic patients who participated in healthy exercise as part of treatment
gained 40 percent more weight compared to those who did not exercise.
"This news may come as a shock to medical professionals who do not generally
include exercise in the treatment for anorexia and bulimia," said Rachel
Calogero, MA, Research Associate at The Renfrew Center Foundation and co-author
of the paper. "The findings support the philosophy that the primary purpose of
exercise should not be for weight loss. Rather, it should promote
positive attitudes about the body through establishing a mind-body
connection, and
alleviating physical and mental stress."
The six-month study, led by The Renfrew Center Foundation, the nonprofit arm
of The Renfrew Center -- country's first freestanding facility dedicated to
treating eating disorders and related women's mental health issues -- was
conducted from August 2002 through March 2003. 254 adult and adolescent patients
admitted into residential treatment at The Renfrew Center of Philadelphia were
monitored to investigate the effectiveness of an exercise program which was
initially designed to target exercise abuse.
"In response to the need to treat exercise abuse, Renfrew developed and
implemented this unique and innovative exercise program at the Philadelphia
site," said Sam Menaged, Renfrew President and CEO. "Because of widespread
misconceptions about exercise for patients, treatment facilities don't typically
offer special programming. The discovery that healthy exercise contributes to
recovery opens a whole new understanding of the way Renfrew treats eating
disorders."
The exercise program, which is in its second year in Philadelphia and is
currently being implemented at the Coconut Creek, FL site, is led by exercise
coordinators 4-5 times per week and includes three levels of exercise that build
on each other: Sensing the self, Supporting the self, and Strengthening the
self. The
exercises are drawn mainly from yoga, Pilates, resistance training and
sports conditioning, and even include partner work. Once admitted by the Renfrew
staff, the patients advance through the program based on their progress in
treatment.
Kelly Pedrotty, MA, Exercise Coordinator at The Renfrew Center and co-author
of the paper adds, "The idea behind the program is to change the patient's
attitudes about exercise. Throughout the program, women are encouraged to do
something different with their exercise. For example, if a woman struggles with
comparing herself to others during exercise, she is urged to focus on her
breathing, pay attention to how her body feels, close her eyes, and experience
the exercise for herself."
Exercise abuse is a typical symptom of eating disorders affecting anywhere
from 33 to 100 percent of eating disorder patients, and one of the last symptoms
to subside after treatment. The use of exercise aids in the treatment for
exercise abuse, in which sufferers engage in chaotic patterns of exercise driven
by self punishment or a need to acquire the permission to eat.
The Renfrew Center, which has treated over 35,000 women since opening its
doors in 1985, has residential and outpatient facilities in Philadelphia, PA and
Greater Ft. Lauderdale, FL, as well as outpatient sites in Bryn Mawr, PA;
Northern New Jersey; New York City; Southern Connecticut and Miami, FL. The
Renfrew Center specializes in the
treatment of eating disorders, including
anorexia,
bulimia, binge eating disorder and related mental health issues.
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