Energy expenditure during nutritional rehabilitation: a scoping review to investigate hypermetabolism in individuals with anorexia nervosa

Weight gain and nutritional rehabilitation are essential first steps to achieve medical stabilization in anorexia nervosa, and frequent resistance to weight gain requires patients to consume high kilocalorie loads. Adaptive hypometabolism is common when patients begin treatment, and rebound hypermetabolism is suspected to be a significant barrier to weight gain. The aim of this review was to summarize existing data describing metabolic changes in anorexia nervosa during weight restoration. The reported findings challenge current hypotheses of weight gain resistance and highlight key areas for future research. Using scoping review guidelines, three databases were searched for studies investigating metabolic changes in anorexia nervosa before and after renourishment. Two reviewers systematically screened the titles and abstracts of 447 articles, and full-text versions of 106 studies were assessed for eligibility. A total of 36 studies were included for review. Data regarding the study description, sample population (including age, weight, BMI, duration of treatment, and caloric intake), and metabolic variable descriptions were extracted. Female patients with anorexia nervosa from studies across 13 countries were included. Across the studies, average BMI increased from 13.7 kg/m2 at admission to 17.57 kg/m2. Patients presented to treatment with clinically reduced energy expenditure levels. After varying levels of nutritional rehabilitation and weight restoration, measured energy expenditure increased significantly in 76