Interventions for Weight Management in Binge-Eating Disorder: Current Findings and Issues.
1Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, 300 George Street (9th floor), New Haven, CT, 06511, USA. carlos.grilo@yale.edu.
Current Psychiatry Reports
|August 9, 2025
Summary
Behavioral lifestyle weight management (BLWM) shows promise for binge-eating disorder (BED) patients with obesity. Clinician-led interventions effectively reduce binge eating and support modest weight loss.
Area of Science:
- Clinical Psychology
- Obesity Research
- Eating Disorders
Background:
- Binge-eating disorder (BED) is strongly linked to obesity and significant psychiatric, somatic, and psychosocial impairments.
- BED is often underdiagnosed and undertreated with evidence-based interventions.
- Weight management is a crucial consideration for individuals with BED and co-occurring obesity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review clinician-led weight management interventions for BED.
- To focus on behavioral lifestyle and pharmacological treatments, excluding self-directed dieting.
- To evaluate the efficacy and safety of these interventions for BED patients.
Main Methods:
- Review of emerging research and rigorous trials on weight management for BED.
- Focus on clinician-led behavioral lifestyle weight management (BLWM) and pharmacological approaches.
- Analysis of outcomes related to binge eating, eating disorder psychopathology, and weight loss.
Main Results:
- Behavioral lifestyle weight management (BLWM) interventions demonstrate empirical support for patients with BED and higher weights.
- These clinician-led interventions approximate outcomes of specialist treatments like CBT in reducing binge eating and psychopathology.
- Modest weight loss has been achieved, which is an important clinical consideration for patients and clinicians.
Conclusions:
- Clinician-led BLWM interventions are effective for managing BED in individuals with obesity.
- These approaches offer a viable option for reducing binge eating and achieving weight loss.
- Further research supports the benefits and addresses the risks of BLWM for BED.
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