Abstract
Abstract: Background: The combination of dietary restraint and physical exercise as a recommended treatment for weight loss has had limited long-term success. One factor proposed as limiting weight management techniques efficacy is the failure to target psychological processes linked with overeating. Consistent with prior research that has identified the efficacy of emotional freedom techniques (EFT) in reducing food cravings and aiding weight loss, this pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) examined the impact of online delivery of EFT intervention on food cravings and weight management. Methods: Participants were randomly assigned to an 8-week online EFT intervention group or waitlist control group. The sample comprised primarily of women (96%) aged between 41 and 60 years. Of the treatment group, 65% consumed their craved foods daily and had an average Body Mass Index in the obese range (33.3). Outcome measures assessed included food cravings, dietary restraint, subjective power of food, weight, somatic (body sensation), anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Results: Post-intervention analyses revealed significant reductions on all measures for participants in the EFT condition (n = 314) with Cohen’s effect size values suggesting moderate to high practical significance for the online intervention. However, there were no significant differences for participants in the waitlist control group (n = 137). In this crossover study design, post-test waitlist data was collapsed into the EFT treatment group data for follow-up analyses, which indicated treatment gains on all measures at 6-month (n = 216) and 12-month (n = 145) follow-up. Conclusions: Findings constitute preliminary support for the utility of online EFT as an accessible tool to assist the management of food cravings and body weight.
Highlights
By the year 2030, it is anticipated the global obesity epidemic will directly affect 57.8% of the world’s population [1]
Eight separate 2 x 2 mixed-method analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted to determine the effect of emotional freedom techniques (EFT) and the waitlist control condition on the dependent variables (i.e., Food Craving Inventory (FCI), Power of Food Scale (PFS), Restraint Scale (RRS), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-S, PHQ-D, PHQ-A, weight, and BMI) over time
These findings demonstrate the efficacy of online delivery of EFT for food cravings, which suggests that well-structured online programs following clinical guidelines, may be associated with similar positive effects as attending in-person therapy
Summary
By the year 2030, it is anticipated the global obesity epidemic will directly affect 57.8% of the world’s population [1]. Research on weight and psychiatric comorbidity suggests that obese individuals are two to four times more likely to experience depression and anxiety disorders [9,10] Psychological constructs such as food craving (an intense physiological and emotional urge or desire to consume particular food [11]) and restrained eating (conscious effort to restrict food intake for the purposes of weight control that can lead to disinhibition of eating behaviours [12]) have been linked to food overconsumption, weight gain, and unsuccessful long-term weight loss [13,14,15,16]. Outcome measures assessed included food cravings, dietary restraint, subjective power of food, weight, somatic (body sensation), anxiety, and depressive symptoms
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