An initial evaluation of a weight loss intervention for individuals who engage in emotional eating.
Emotional eating may contribute to variability in weight loss and may warrant specialized treatment, although no randomized studies of specialized treatments exist for individuals who engage in emotional eating. This pilot study tested a new weight loss intervention for individuals who emotionally eat and compared it to the standard behavioral weight loss treatment (SBT). 79 predominantly female (95 %), predominantly African American (79.7 %) individuals who emotionally eat (BMI = 36.2 ± 4.1 kg/m(2)) were randomized to (1) a new enhanced behavioral treatment (EBT), incorporating skills for managing emotions and emotional eating or (2) a SBT. Primary outcomes were weight and emotional eating at 20 weeks. Weight decreased significantly in both groups (SBT: -5.77 kg (-7.49, -4.04); EBT: -5.83 kg (-7.57, -4.09)), with no significant between-group differences. Similar results were produced for emotional eating. Results suggest that SBT may be effective for reducing weight and emotional eating in individuals who emotionally eat, and that adding emotional-eating specific strategies may not provide additional benefits beyond those produced by SBT interventions in the short-term.Registration site: www.clinicaltrials.gov .


BACKGROUND
NCT02055391.
Department of Psychology, La Salle University, 1900 W. Olney Ave., Philadelphia, PA, 19141, USA. goldbacher@lasalle.edu.
Edie
E
Goldbacher
Department of Psychology, La Salle University, 1900 W. Olney Ave., Philadelphia, PA, 19141, USA.
Caitlin
C
La Grotte
Department of Education, Keiser University Graduate School, 1900 W. Commercial Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33309, USA.
Eugene
E
Komaroff
Center for Obesity Research and Education, Temple University, 3223 N. Broad Street, Suite 175, Philadelphia, PA, 19140, USA.|Weight Watchers International, 675 Avenue of the Americas, 6th Floor, New York, NY, 10010, USA.
Stephanie
S
Vander Veur
Center for Obesity Research and Education, Temple University, 3223 N. Broad Street, Suite 175, Philadelphia, PA, 19140, USA.|Weight Watchers International, 675 Avenue of the Americas, 6th Floor, New York, NY, 10010, USA.
Gary D
GD
Foster
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D001835:Body Weight; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000502:physiology*
African-American; Emotional eating; Intervention; Obesity; Weight loss