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Review
. 2023 Jun 1;15(11):2594.
doi: 10.3390/nu15112594.

The Impact of Anorexia Nervosa and the Basis for Non-Pharmacological Interventions

Vicente Javier Clemente-Suárez  1 , Maria Isabel Ramírez-Goerke  1 , Laura Redondo-Flórez  2 , Ana Isabel Beltrán-Velasco  3 , Alexandra Martín-Rodríguez  1 , Domingo Jesús Ramos-Campo  4 , Eduardo Navarro-Jiménez  5 , Rodrigo Yáñez-Sepúlveda  6 , José Francisco Tornero-Aguilera  1
Affiliations
Review

The Impact of Anorexia Nervosa and the Basis for Non-Pharmacological Interventions

Vicente Javier Clemente-Suárez et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric disorder with an unknown etiology that is characterized by an individual's preoccupation with their weight and body structure while denying the severity of their low body weight. Due to the fact that anorexia nervosa is multifaceted and may indicate the coexistence of genetic, social, hormonal, and psychiatric disorders, a description of non-pharmacological interventions can be used to ameliorate or reduce the symptoms of this condition. Consequently, the purpose of the present narrative review is to describe the profile's context in the anorexic person as well as the support they would require from their family and environment. In addition, it is aimed at examining preventative and non-pharmacological interventions, such as nutritional interventions, physical activity interventions, psychological interventions, psychosocial interventions, and physical therapy interventions. To reach the narrative review aims, a critical review was conducted utilizing both primary sources, such as scientific publications, and secondary sources, such as bibliographic indexes, web pages, and databases. Nutritional interventions include nutritional education and an individualized treatment for each patient, physical activity interventions include allowing patients to perform controlled physical activity, psychological interventions include family therapy and evaluation of the existence of other psychological disorders, psychosocial interventions include management of the relationship between the patient and social media and physical therapy interventions include relaxation massages and exercises to relieve pain. All these non-pharmacological interventions need to be individualized based on each patient's needs.

Keywords: anorexia nervosa; eating disorder; individual profile; interventions; microbiota; non-pharmacological; nutrition; physical exercise; psychology; therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Bone and muscle implications in AN influenced by genetics and food restriction; BMD: bone mineral density; mTOR: mammalian target of rapamycin; HDAC4: histone deacetylase 4; IGF-1: insulin grown factor 1; ERRs: estrogen-related receptors.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Consequences of malnutrition on the dental health of people suffering from anorexia.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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