The Effect of Registered Dietitians on Eating Disorder Symptomatology, Planned Termination of Treatment, and Quality of Life in Eating Disorder Patients: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Eating disorders are psychiatric disorders that involve abnormal behaviors with eating or behaviors to control weight. The have high prevalence and mortality rates and current treatment efficacy of only 19%-68%. A variety of treatment methods and healthcare professionals attempt to address these disorders, including psychotherapists, medical doctors, psychiatrists, and registered dietitians. However, treatment teams do not always include a registered dietitian. This review studies the effects of registered dietitians on eating disorder symptomatology, planned termination of treatment, and quality of life in eating disorder patients. Pubmed/Medline, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched for original research articles in English written between 2012 and 2022. Studies were screened for inclusion of all criteria of the PICO question: "What are the effects of a registered dietitian, nutritional counseling, or nutrition education (I) alone or compared to another treatment method (C) on the eating disorder symptomatology, planned termination of treatment, and quality of life (O) in patients with eating disorders (P)?" From 44 articles assessed for eligibility, four articles met all criteria and were included in the study. The eating disorder symptomatology results with treatment by a registered dietitian were mixed, with combined treatment of psychotherapy and nutrition appearing more effective than nutrition or psychotherapy alone. Planned termination of treatment was lower in nutrition groups compared to psychotherapy or exercise and highest in combined psychotherapy and nutrition treatments. Quality of life improved in nutrition and psychotherapy and combined interventions but improved the most in the latter two. The results overall were mixed and of weak quality of evidence due to the small sample size and lack of heterogeneity of methods within the studies. Future research should examine the effects of registered dietitians on eating disorder treatment results.