August 17, 2006
Online Intervention Helps At Risk for Eating Disorders
In a controlled trial of 480 college-age women in San Francisco and San Diego, Calif., those who were identified in preliminary interviews as being at risk for developing an eating disorder were included in an eight-week, Internet-based, cognitive-behavioral intervention program called "Student Bodies."
This CBT program had been shown to be effective in previous small-scale short-term studies. The intervention aimed to reduce the participants' concerns about body weight and shape, enhance body image, promote healthy eating and weight maintenance, and increase knowledge about the risks associated with eating disorders.
The online program included reading and other assignments such as keeping an online body-image journal. Participants also took part in an online discussion group, moderated by clinical psychologists. Participants were interviewed immediately following the end of the online program, and annually for up to three years thereafter to determine their attitudes toward their weight and shape, and measure the onset of any eating disorders.
This study is supported by NIMH and according to the press release, the intervention appeared to be most successful among overweight women who had elevated body mass indexes (BMIs) of 25 or more at the start of the program. In fact, among these women in the intervention group, none developed an eating disorder after two years, while 11.9 percent of the women with comparable baseline BMIs in the control group did develop an eating disorder during the same time frame. BMI is a reliable indicator of a person's body fat by measuring his or her weight and height.
The program also appeared to help women in the San Francisco Bay area who had some symptoms of an eating disorder at the start of the program, such as self-induced vomiting; laxative, diet pill or diuretic use; or excessive exercise. Of those in the intervention group with these characteristics, 14 percent developed an eating disorder within two years, while 30 percent of those with these characteristics in the control group developed an eating disorder during the same time frame.
The authors suggest that the intervention helped these high-risk women become less concerned about their weight and shape, while also helping them understand healthier eating and nutrition practices.
Journal Articles:
Taylor CB, et al. Prevention of Eating Disorders in At-risk College-age Women. Archives of General Psychiatry. August 2006.
An interactive internet-based intervention for women at risk of eating disorders: A pilot study
International Journal of Eating Disorders
An interactive internet-based intervention for women at risk of eating disorders: A pilot study
European Eating Disorders Review
Review Paper:
Eating Disorders and the Internet: The Therapeutic Possibilities