Randomized test of a brief psychological intervention to reduce and prevent emotional eating in a community sample.
BACKGROUND
Emotional eating is associated with mental health problems and weight gain, but research has focussed on treatment rather than prevention. The present research tests a brief theory-based psychological intervention to reduce and prevent emotional eating in a community sample.


METHODS
Two hundred and forty women were randomized to a control condition in which they were asked to identify emotional eating triggers and strategies for change (a 'volitional help sheet') or to an experimental condition in which they were asked explicitly to use the volitional help sheet to link emotional eating triggers with strategies for change and so form implementation intentions.


RESULTS
Results showed that eating in response to boredom was more common than eating in response to anxiety or depression. There was a significant condition × time interaction showing that the formation of implementation intentions resulted in significantly lower levels of emotional eating in response to boredom at follow-up (d = 0.29).


CONCLUSIONS
The intervention shows promise in reducing and preventing emotional eating, but further research is required to refine the tool and to examine whether eating in response to anxiety or depression is more common among clinical populations.
Manchester Centre for Health Psychology, School of Psychological Sciences, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
Christopher J
CJ
Armitage
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D001887:Boredom; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008875:Middle Aged; D011614:Psychotherapy, Brief / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
boredom; brief intervention; emotional eating; implementation intention; volitional help sheet