Authors (Year) (Country) | Study design | Sample size/characteristic | Focus of study | Study schedule |
---|---|---|---|---|
Anderluh et al. (2009)[35] (Slovenia/UK) | Cross-sectional study using clinical sample and retrospective reports | N = 97 female patients. ANR = 35, ANBP = 32, BN = 30. Mean current BMI for AN across subtypes = 16.7. Mean age of AN patients = 27.75 years. | Aimed to define an eating disorders (ED) phenotype by retrospectively assessing lifetime ED symptoms to examine a lifetime pattern of illness. | Initial screening diagnosis by experienced clinician in inpatient service. Participants interviewed by trained researcher. Demographic information collected, weight and height measured. |
Bewell-Weiss & Carter (2010) (Canada)[36] | Cross-sectional design using clinical sample | N = 153 (148 female) first-admission inpatients with AN. Mean age = 26.0 years. Mean BMI = 15.0 kg/m2. | Aimed to amalgamate findings into a comprehensive regression model of predictors of excessive exercise in patients with AN. | All patients diagnosed by experienced clinician, with EDE. Exercise behaviour classified as excessive (34% of total N)-endorsed obligatory exercise, at least one hour daily, six days per week, for >1 month. |
Davis & Claridge (1998) (Canada/UK)[37] | Cross-sectional design using clinical sample | 83 female patients, AN = 34, BN = 49, Mean age = 28.1 years. Only patients without a history of another ED classification were included in the study. | Aimed to determine whether patients with eating disorders display addictive and OC personality characteristics relevant to weight preoccupation and excessive exercising. | Participants completed questionnaires and interview was conducted at time of admission to program. |
Davis & Kaptein (2006) (Canada)[38] | Prospective design using clinical sample | 50 inpatients-ANR. Mean age = 25.4 years. Mean BMI at admission = 14.05. BMI at discharge =19.6. | Aimed to determine whether AN patients represented a phenotype linked with OCD. | Completed questionnaires within first week of admission. Exercise interview conducted shortly after. Follow-up questionnaires were completed as soon as they attained target weight, determined by clinical team. |
Davis et al. (1998) (Canada)[2] | Quasi-experimental design using clinical sample | Clinical sample (inpatient and outpatients) classified by DSM-III-R (1987) criteria. AN-Restrictor N =26; AN with bulimia = N = 16. EDNOS with low body weight N = 11. Mean AN BMI = 16.5. Classified as high level exercisers (N = 22, mean age = 27.1) or moderate/non exercisers (N = 31, mean age = 28.8). | Explored relationships between exercise levels, Obsessive Compulsive symptomatology, and restricted eating in AN. Discussed in relation to models of biological mechanisms in AN. | Questionnaires completed, physical activity interview for exercise classification. Height and weight measured after interview. |
Davis et al. (1995) (Canada)[39] | Cross-sectional study using clinical and non-clinical sample | Clinical sample; Inpatients with AN, or had met criteria within past year for AN (N = 46, Mean age = 24.2, SD = 4.7). Non-clinical samples: 2 samples of women (n = 88, Mean age = 23.3, SD = 3.8 and n = 40, Mean age =24.7, SD = 3.2) | Aimed to investigate relationship between obsessive-compulsiveness and psychological and behavioural aspects of exercise in women with AN | Clinical sample tested within first 5 or 6 weeks of hospital admission, through questionnaires and interview. |
Holtkamp et al. (2004) (Germany)[40] | Cross-sectional study using clinical sample | 30 female adolescent inpatients with AN. Mean age = 14.6 years. Mean BMI = 14.4 kg/m2. | Examined relationships between restricted diet, increased physical activity and psychopathology in acute stage of AN. | All patients diagnosed by experienced clinician, AN subtype diagnosed by trained interviewer blind to study hypothesis within three days of admission. |
Naylor et al. (2011) (UK)[41] | Cross-sectional study comparing clinical and non-clinical samples | Clinical sample recruited from 4 eating disorder services: AN =30; BN = 24; EDNOS = 10. Mean BMI = 19.23, Mean age =29.98. Non-clinical university student sample: mean BMI = 20.86, Mean age = 20.32. | Aimed to explore exercise beliefs, obsessive beliefs and obsessive compulsive behaviours to understand the role of excessive exercise in eating disorders. | Clinical participants assessed and diagnosed by experienced clinicians using semi-structured interview, permission granted to gather diagnoses, BMI from medical file. Nonclinical sample reported height and weight. |
Penas-Lledo et al. (2002) (Spain)[31] | Cross-sectional design using retrospective case notes from inpatient service | ANR patients = 35; ANBP patients = 28. BN patients = 61. Mean age = 20.25 years. Mean AN BMI = 16.9 | Examined whether physical exercise is related to different aspects of psychopathology and if this association is different between diagnoses. | Data collected routinely by clinicians blind to the hypotheses. Participants coded as excessive exercisers if exercised at least 5× week (>1 hr per session), with aim to burn up calories. |
Shroff et al. (2006)[42] USA | Cross-sectional design using clinical sample, and relatives with history of eating disorder. | AN probands and biological relatives who met lifetime diagnosis of AN, N = 431. BN probands and biological affected relatives, N = 750. AN Trios study- probands and parents, N = 749. Resulting sample size = 1857. | Explored features associated with excessive exercise across subtypes of eating disorders. | Participants from multi-site international Price Foundation Genetic study. Probands and relatives assessed for psychological and personality features that may underlie vulnerability to eating disorders. |