Exercise and Activity

Exercise is important for all of us in developing and maintaining good physical and mental health. It can also be a valued part of your life interests and identity, whether through individual or team activity.

When your physical health is poor because of an eating disorder, there may be a time when limiting your exercise and activity is discussed with you. This is usually when restrictive eating disorders, such as Anorexia Nervosa, lead to you becoming very underweight or physically unwell or needing admission to hospital.

Energy balance is the balance between the energy you take in through food and the energy you use up through activity and exercise. When trying to restore weight and the strain starvation puts on the body, the energy taken in needs to be higher than the energy used up.  Food and energy are the medicines you need.

Depending on which eating disorder you have, your treating team will provide you with recommendations on a safe level of physical activity for you, and on limiting it if necessary. This is generally reviewed and adjusted as you recover.  

The NICE guidelines for the treatment of eating disorders, do not recommend that physical therapies such as yoga or weight training are offered as part of treatment for eating disorders. They are not effective.