Changing Eating Behavior Using Cognitive Training

Babes-Bolyai University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Weight Loss; Overweight; Obesity

Treatments: Behavioral: Hypnosis; Behavioral: Food inhibition training; Behavioral: Control

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04450524

Phd Study 4

Details and patient eligibility

About

Obesity is a global health problem. New and more efficient interventions are needed to overcome this disease. This randomized clinical trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of changing eating behavior using cognitive training. These types of interventions have the role of creating new routines (unconsciously processed), in terms of healthy eating behaviors.

Full description

This is a randomized clinical trial with three groups. Participants will be found through social media announcements. The active interventions of cognitive training will be delivered at two groups: one group will receive through hypnosis and the other will receive through food inhibition training (a GO NO GO task). The control group will receive a simple GO NO GO task as an active placebo. The trial will be exclusively online and it consists of five sessions. Participants will complete their tasks on four Zoom sessions. Cognitive, emotional and behavioral data will be taken at four times: before the intervention starts, in the middle (after two sessions), at the end and at two follow up moments: one month and six months after the trial ends.

Enrollment: 135 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Adults
• Persons who like high-calorie foods (self-report food preferences)
• Persons who have a medium to high score at the self-report daily snacking
• BMI>25

Exclusion criteria

• Enrolled in a weight loss program
• Under 18 years
• Health problems that can affect weight loss
• Persons with clinical problems such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, mental problems, persons who take medicines that can affect weight loss

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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135 participants in 3 patient groups, including a placebo group

Hypnosis

Experimental group

Description:

Hypnosis formed from hypnotic induction (an adapted version from Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility) together with hypnotic suggestions about a future where they will control their eating behaviors by choosing the low-calorie food instead of dense calorie one.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Hypnosis

Food Inhibition Training

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will perform an online computer go-no-go task. They will be shown pictures of dense and low-calorie food together with neutral pictures, followed by the instruction to press or not a button when the pictures are framed in a bold frame (dense calorie food).

Treatment:

Behavioral: Food inhibition training

Control

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

Participants will perform an online computer go-no-go task. They will be shown pictures of dense and low-calorie food together with neutral pictures, followed by the instruction to press the button to indicate the position of the picture - left or right.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Control