Anorexia Nervosa — A Matter of Habit?

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is associated with substantially higher mortality in young women, yet effective treatments are lacking. The habit-based model of AN proposes that restrictive food intake, compensatory behaviors, eating delay, and eating rituals may initially be reinforcing for weight loss but persist long past achievement of original weight-loss goals because the behaviors have become automatic habits with potent antecedent cues, including emotional states. To test this model, investigators randomized 22 inpatients with AN to standard supportive psychotherapy (SP) or an intervention targeting habit strength (Regulating Emotions and Changing Habits [REaCH]). REaCH was adapted from psychotherapies effective for other habit-based disorder…