Comparing Olanzapine with Placebo in Patients with Anorexia Nervosa for Increasing BMI and Weight Gain

Abstract

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by exceptionally low body weight and a feeling of disgust toward food. In addition, it causes complications for the affected person as it affects their immunity, weakens them quickly, makes them sick and malnourished. The commonly known treatment for anorexia nervosa is psychological treatment using methods such as CBT and MANTRA. With the introduction of pharmacological medications, the aim of this review is now to determine whether olanzapine is effective compared to placebo in increasing BMI and weight gain. It was found that olanzapine had a large increase in BMI compared to placebo [F (1, 20) =6.64, p=0.018] and that it significantly reduced depression and anxiety. Further studies found that olanzapine patients gained weight more quickly and reached their BMI goals more quickly than patients taking a placebo. On the other hand, a contradictory result was found, namely that there was no significant difference between olanzapine and placebo in terms of weight recovery and psychological, depressive and anxiety symptoms. It is concluded that reliance on pharmacological therapies should be minimized until new evidence emerges and that psychotherapies such as CBT and MANTRA should be relied upon primarily to increase BMI in patients with anorexia nervosa.