title: Food for Thought: A Randomised Controlled Trial of Emotional Freedom Techniques and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in the Treatment of Food Cravings.
abstract: Addressing the internal determinants of dysfunctional eating behaviours (e.g. food cravings) in the prevention and treatment of obesity has been increasingly recognised. This study compared Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for food cravings in adults who were overweight or obese (N = 83) in an 8-week intervention. Outcome data were collected at baseline, post-intervention, and at 6- and 12-months follow-up. Overall, EFT and CBT demonstrated comparable efficacy in reducing food cravings, one's responsiveness to food in the environment (power of food), and dietary restraint, with Cohen's effect size values suggesting moderate to high practical significance for both interventions. Results also revealed that both EFT and CBT are capable of producing treatment effects that are clinically meaningful, with reductions in food cravings, the power of food, and dietary restraint normalising to the scores of a non-clinical community sample. While reductions in BMI were not observed, the current study supports the suggestion that psychological interventions are beneficial for food cravings and both CBT and EFT could serve as vital adjunct tools in a multidisciplinary approach to managing obesity.
authors.affiliation: Bond University, Australia.
authors.forename: Peta
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stapleton
authors.affiliation: Bond University, Australia.
authors.forename: Amy Jean
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Bannatyne
authors.affiliation: Bond University, Australia.
authors.forename: Keri-Charle
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Urzi
authors.affiliation: The Lakeside Rooms, Robina, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Brett
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Porter
authors.affiliation: Bond University, Australia.|The Lakeside Rooms, Robina, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Terri
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sheldon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D066249:Craving; D004644:Emotions; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D050177:Overweight / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: cognitive behaviour therapy; emotional freedom techniques; food cravings; obesity