Treatment: For an individual with severe weight loss that has impaired with severe weight loss must focus on correction of malnutrition. In addition, they should focus on an intravenous feeding that goes past the mouth may be required. A gain of between 1 to 3 pounds per week is a safe and attainable goal when malnutrition must be corrected.
Sometimes weight gain is achieved using schedules for eating, decreased physical activity, and increased social activity, either on an inpatient or outpatient basis. For individuals who have suffered from anorexia for several years, the goals of treatment may need to be achieved more slowly in order to prevent the anorexia sufferer from relapsing as a result of being overwhelmed by treatment.