Effects of Self-conditioning Techniques in Promoting Weight Loss in Patients With Obesity. A Randomized Controlled Trial

University of Turin

Status and phase: Completed; Phase 3

Conditions: Obesity

Treatments: Other: standard care (diet, exercise and behavioral therapy); Other: self-conditioning techniques

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02978105

sbo2015

Details and patient eligibility

About

The investigators hypothesized that hypnosis is an alternative technique that could be applied to help patients with obesity to lose weight.

The possibility that a self-conditioning technique (self-hypnosis) added to traditional approach (diet, exercise and behavioral recommendations) will be effective in determining weight loss with respect to the traditional approach in subjects with a body mass index (BMI) between 35 and 50 kg/m2 will be studied.

Full description

Obesity is a serious health concern. Most lifestyle interventions fail over time; indeed, overeating often involves loss of control and compulsive behaviors.

Hypnosis could increase the ability to control emotional impulses. Self-conditioning techniques borrowed from hypnosis (self-hypnosis) increase self-control and self-management of emotions. Recent hypnosis techniques with a rapid-induction phase allow the trained patients to go into self-hypnosis in a few minutes and to repeat the experience in complete autonomy, employing a short time of the day only.

Enrollment: 120 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 20 to 70 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Able to give written informed consent
• BMI between 35 and 50 kg/m2
• Age 20-70 years

Exclusion criteria

• Current or previous mental disorders and/or on any psychotropic drug
• Insulin treatment
• Candidates for bariatric surgery
• Current (or discontinued for less than 6 months) treatment with anti-obesity drugs
• Patients at risk of heart failure, edema, ascites (heart diseases, chronic liver diseases, nephrotic syndrome, renal failure)
• Patients with untreated or uncompensated thyroid diseases

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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120 participants in 2 patient groups

Experimental

Experimental group

Description:

self-conditioning techniques plus standard care

Treatment:

Other: standard care (diet, exercise and behavioral therapy)

Other: self-conditioning techniques

Control

Active Comparator group

Description:

Standard care: dietary recommendations, exercise recommendations, and behavioral recommendations

Treatment:

Other: standard care (diet, exercise and behavioral therapy)