Intuitive Eating for Disordered Eating (IERCT)

Yeshiva University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Eating Behavior; Body Image; Eating Disorder Symptom; Psychological Distress

Treatments: Behavioral: Intuitive Eating Treatment

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05031611

20200516

Details and patient eligibility

About

Purpose: Research on intuitive eating is growing, but there are few interventions demonstrating the effect of learning to eat intuitively for people with disordered eating. Young women in particular are at high-risk for developing disordered eating. This study aimed to test the outcomes of a novel intuitive eating intervention for young women with disordered eating.

Methods: This study is the first randomized controlled trial introducing intuitive eating to a sample of participants with disordered eating. Participants with current eating disorders were excluded from this study. Women (n=123) ages 18-30 with high levels of disordered eating participated in this study and were randomized to either a treatment (10-week web-based intervention) or control group (10-week waitlist).

Enrollment: 123 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 18 to 30 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Female
• Between 18 and 30 years of age
• Located in the United States or Canada
• No eating disorder
• No previous participation in an intuitive eating intervention
• Score greater than or equal to 25 on the TFEQ-r18 at baseline

Exclusion criteria

• Gender not female
• Younger than 18 years of age
• Older than 30 years of age
• Located outside the United States or Canada
• Score less than 25 on the TFEQ-r18 at baseline
• Previously participated in an intuitive eating intervention
• Current eating disorder

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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123 participants in 2 patient groups

Intuitive Eating Treatment

Experimental group

Description:

The intervention was a novel 10-week program aimed at promoting IE through pre-recorded videos, reading material, and bi-weekly discussion sessions. The intervention introduced the following modules sequentially: Unconditional Permission to Eat, Reliance to Hunger and Fullness Cues, Body-Food Choice Congruence, Gentle Nutrition, and Joyful Movement. Every other week, a new module was introduced. Participants were taught the concept of this module through video and reading, then prompted to practice it over the week. On opposite weeks, the module last introduced was discussed in greater detail through video, and participants were given the opportunity to discuss amongst one another and have all questions answered by the researchers.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Intuitive Eating Treatment

Waitlist Control

No Intervention group

Description:

Waitlist control group participants completed a series of questionnaires at the beginning and end of a 10-week interval, to compare changes in those who completed the intervention versus those who did not. This group was subsequently invited to participate in the intervention after their time on the wait-list.