Mercado D, Werthmann J, Antunes-Duarte T, Campbell IC, Schmidt U. A randomised controlled feasibility study of food-related computerised attention training versus mindfulness training and waiting-list control for adults with overweight or obesity: the FOCUS study.
J Eat Disord 2023;
11:61. [PMID:
37046356 PMCID:
PMC10099893 DOI:
10.1186/s40337-023-00780-5]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
In a feasibility randomised controlled trial in people with overweight/obesity with and without binge eating disorder (BED) symptoms, we assessed eight weekly sessions of attention bias modification training (ABMT) and mindfulness training (MT) versus waiting list (WL) and explored potential mechanisms.
METHODS
45 participants were randomly allocated to one of three trial arms. Primary outcomes were recruitment, retention and treatment adherence rates. Secondary outcomes included measures of eating behaviour, mood, attention and treatment acceptability. Assessments were conducted at baseline, post-intervention (week 8), and follow-up (week 12).
RESULTS
Participant retention at follow-up was 84.5% across groups. Session completion rates in the laboratory were 87% for ABMT and 94% for MT, but home practice was much poorer for ABMT. Changes in BMI and body composition were small between groups and there was a medium size BMI reduction in the MT group at follow-up. Effect sizes of eating disorder symptom changes were not greater for either intervention group compared to WL, but favoured ABMT compared to MT. Hedonic hunger and mindful eating scores favoured MT compared to ABMT and WL. ABMT reduced attention biases towards high-calorie food cues, which correlated with lower objective binge eating days at post-intervention. No significant changes were observed in the MT, or WL conditions.
CONCLUSIONS
Both ABMT and MT have potential value as adjuncts in the treatment of obesity and BED, and a larger clinical trial appears feasible and indicated.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
ISRCTN Registry, ISRCTN15745838. Registered on 22 May 2018.
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