Measurement of physical fitness in anorexia nervosa inpatients with adapted Eurofit battery test

Aims. To investigate the effects if inpatient cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on physical fitness of patients with Anorexia Nervosa (AN) and to evaluate the feasibility of the Eurofit Battery test (EB) in this population. Methods: Physical fitness was assessed with an adapted version of the EB (Endurance: 6’ walking test; Arm strength: hand grip; Abdominal: sit up; Leg strength: standing broad jump; Balance: flamingo balance; Flexibility: sit and reach) administered to 29 female AN patients (BMI: 14.35±1.51 kg/m2), pre and post treatment, and to fifty-eight healthy females (BMI: 21.17±2.57 kg/m2) of the same age (24.4±9.2 vs 25.9±9.1ys, respectively, z=1.39, p=0.165). AN group underwent test on the second day of the admission and the last week before the hospital discharge. Results: All Eurofit items showed good feasibility, but some AN patients refused to sustain some tests at the admission. CBT was associated with a significant improvement in BMI (from 14.3±1.5 to 18.8±1.2, Z=4.20, p<0.001) and in 4 out of 6 Eurofit tests (p<0.05) in the AN group. However, both in pre and post, AN patients generally showed lower scores compared to the control group (all p < 0.001) with the exception of sit up score. Conclusions: Adapted EB can be recommended for evaluating physical fitness parameters in AN patients. Physical fitness is lower in AN patients than in controls both at baseline and after weight restoration. These data suggest the need to associate to the classical inpatient treatment of AN specific therapeutic strategies to improve physical fitness.