Online multidisciplinary treatment of binge eating disorder in people with high weight: a case series study

Binge eating disorder (BED) is the most frequent eating behavior among the general population (Guerdjikova in Med Clin 103:669-680, 2019). Many studies on interventions and BED treatments have been carried out in the United States and Europe, few have been reported in Latin American populations. People with this disorder not only have physical consequences of it but also social and psychological ones, therefore a multidisciplinary treatment approach is a good option to treat this condition.

To evaluate the feasibility of a multidisciplinary online intervention (i.e., psychological, nutritional, and physical activity) in patients with BED.

The design was a case series study of two clinical treatment groups, with pre-test and post-test psychometric measures along with two follow-ups (at 2 and 6 months). Fifteen people diagnosed with BED (2 men and 13 women), with a mean age of 34.93 years (SD=11.91) and a mean initial BMI of 42, participated in this study. The treatment was carried out over the span of 28 sessions, each one being two hours per week consisting of 1 hour of group therapy and 1 hour of individual therapy. There were four evaluations: pre, post and two follow-ups.

Five patients did not complete the treatment (30%). The comparisons were made through the non-parametric Friedman test, finding a statistically significant decrease in binge eating symptoms (x2=15.57; p=.001), anxiety symptoms (x2=15.96; p=.001) and depression (x2=15.03; p=.002). There was an improvement in clarity (x2=11.60; p=.010) and emotional regulation (x2=7.75; p=.050), only in women. The patients reduced their body weight, and improved their eating and exercise habits by introducing fruits and vegetables and including 20-30 minutes of physical activity into their daily routine. Regarding the Objective Clinical Change Index, in terms of the objective clinical change, a positive change was observed in all the variables addressed.

The data presented allowed us to conclude that the online multidisciplinary intervention was effective in the treatment of BED. Trial registration Retrospectively registered.