Hyperactivity in Anorexia Nervosa A comparative study among AN patients, individuals at risk and healthy controls about the relationship of hyperactivity with eating disorder related symptoms.
Summary
Hyperactivity is a frequently observed feature of Anorexia Nervosa (AN). However, as it is
not included in the official DSM-IV criteria for the disorder, much ambiguity exists about this
concept. In most studies, hyperactivity is not measured with an objective assessment tool, and
the use of control groups is scarce. The aim of this study was to measure hyperactivity with
different assessment tools. Objective hyperactivity was assessed using an actiwatch which
registers all movement, while subject hyperactivity was assessed with the Drive for activity
questionnaire and the Spare time questionnaire. Apart from the AN patients, two control
groups were included in this study: an at risk and a healthy control group. As it has been
found that a high activity level is known to be a predictor for future eating pathology, a group
of young aspiring ballet dancers was included as an at risk group.
In the present study was found that AN patients display higher levels of objective
hyperactivity, drive for activity and activity in spare time than the control groups. However,
no relationship existed between objective and subjective hyperactivity for the three groups.
For AN patients, a negative correlation of -.48 (p = .032) was found between objective
hyperactivity and SD BMI, and a negative correlation of -.51 (p = .025) between objective
hyperactivity and fat percentage. A positive relationship of .58 (p = .008) was found between
eating pathology and activity in spare time. For the at risk group, a positive correlation of .50
(p = .039) was found between objective hyperactivity and SD BMI. Secondly, a positive
correlation of .51 (p = .030) was found between eating pathology and drive for activity. For
the healthy controls a negative correlation of -.44 (p = .047) was found between objective
hyperactivity and eating pathology, and a positive correlation of .73 (p < .001) was found
between drive for activity and eating pathology.
These results show that AN patients are indeed more hyperactive than their
counterparts without an eating disorder. Furthermore, they suggest that hyperactivity in AN is
related to more severe symptoms; like higher levels of eating pathology, and lower weight and
fat percentage. For the at risk group, a higher weight implies more a higher level of
hyperactivity, and a higher drive for activity is related to more eating pathology. For the
healthy controls a lower objective hyperactivity goes hand in hand with more eating
pathology, while a higher drive for activity is related to more eating pathology.