An ACT-Based Physician-Delivered Weight Loss Intervention

McGill University

Status: Terminated

Conditions: Eating Behavior; Overweight and Obesity

Treatments: Behavioral: Standard Care; Behavioral: ACT Intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03611829

CIHR PJT-153383 (Other Grant/Funding Number)

405-0316

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of the present study was to conduct a pilot RCT to test the feasibility of a physician-delivered ACT-based intervention for emotional eaters with overweight/obesity against standard care at a network of weight loss clinics. Participants were randomized to receive either standard care at the clinics or the ACT intervention.

Full description

The purpose of the present study was to conduct a pilot RCT to test the feasibility of a physician-delivered ACT-based intervention for emotional eaters with overweight/obesity against standard care at a network of weight loss clinics. Psychology clinical PhD students trained physicians in the delivery of the brief manualized intervention and were available for regular consults. The intervention consisted of eight, 5-10 minute sessions that could be easily incorporated into the physician's current practice. Over the duration of the ACT intervention, physicians met individually with patients to teach them various techniques to address and improve mindfulness, acceptance, and values clarification and commitment, all of which emotional eaters have been found to struggle with (Forman & Butryn, 2014). The proven habit formation technique of if-then planning (Gollwitzer, 1993) was used throughout these sessions in order to train emotional eaters to habitually use ACT techniques and to change the maladaptive habit of eating in response to negative emotions.

Enrollment: 87 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Only participants considered to be emotional eaters, as assessed by a score of 3.25 or higher on the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ), were recruited for the study (van Strien, Herman, Anschutz, Engels, & de Weerth, 2012).

Exclusion criteria

• Not being an emotional eater.
• Participants who did not speak, write, and read in English fluently were excluded from the study, as well as those who were pregnant.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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87 participants in 2 patient groups

Standard Care

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants in the standard care condition were provided with diet and exercise counselling and psychoeducation from their physicians over the course of 8 sessions, as was routinely done at the clinic. Standard care did not involve any targeted intervention to reduce emotional eating.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Standard Care

ACT Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

In addition to receiving standard care, participants in the ACT condition were taught techniques to reduce their emotional eating. Three overarching skills were taught over the course of the ACT intervention: (1) values clarification and commitment, (2) metacognitive awareness, and (3) distress tolerance. Throughout the sessions, physicians formed if-then plans with the patients to specify how to habitually use the ACT techniques to reduce emotional eating in their everyday lives. At the end of each session, participants were given a one-page homework sheet that asked them to monitor their behavior and their use of the ACT techniques during the week.

Treatment:

Behavioral: ACT Intervention

Behavioral: Standard Care