Ideally, the amount of weight gain should be determined by a
medical or dietary professional experienced with eating
disorders. During the weight gain phase, patients should be
strongly encouraged to significantly limit or refrain from
excessive physical activity. Anxiety during weight gain should
be redirected toward working on self-esteem and coping skills,
as well as exploring antecedents of the eating disorder that
often relate to body weight, such as teasing or bullying. Males
tend to overvalue muscularity in terms of body image and
therefore are much more concerned about building muscle with
weight gain and are fearful of body fat, whereas females are
more fearful of any type of weight gain or increase in size.
Males also tend to be more fearful of fats and carbohydrates in
food compared with females who are more calorie-avoidant in
general. It is also important to address dietary behaviors that
are very rigid and limited in terms of food varieties because
these typically are related to resistance to ea