Reducing Eating Disorder Risk Factors

March 16, 2020 updated by: Craig Barr Taylor, Stanford University

Interventions to Reduce Eating Disorder Risk Factors

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a web-based program is effective in reducing the incidence of eating disorders in college women who are at high risk for developing an eating disorder.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Female college students who use unhealthy weight control methods and have body image concerns may be at risk for developing an eating disorder. Developing and evaluating interventions to reduce eating disorders in high-risk populations is of great public health importance.

Participants are randomly assigned to either join a web-based risk-reduction program or receive no intervention. The 9-week risk-reduction program focuses on reducing body image and weight/shape concerns, identifying the risks of eating disorders, and increasing healthy weight regulation practices. The program includes weekly readings, writing assignments, and participation in a moderated electronic discussion group. Changes in body mass index (BMI) and the occurrence of major stressors and psychiatric events are assessed to determine their impact on the incidence of eating disorders. One-year incidence of eating disorders is determined by a diagnostic interview, and follow up may continue for up to 2.5 years.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

206

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Stanford, California, United States, 94305
        • Stanford University, Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 30 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • College students at risk for developing an eating disorder

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Suicidal or other severe psychopathology
  • Alcohol or drug abuse
  • Body mass index (BMI) < 18 or > 32
  • Current diagnosis of anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder, or bulimia nervosa and have been in treatment within the past 6 months

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention
An 8-week, Internet- based, structured cognitive- behavioral program combined with an online, asynchronous, moderated discussion group.
Behavioral: Web-based intervention to reduce eating disorder risk factors
No Intervention: Control
The waitlist control group was only contacted at the time of assessments and was offered the intervention at the end of the study, after the 2-year follow-up assessment was completed.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Onset of an eating disorder
Time Frame: 2 years
The main outcome is the onset of an eating disorder, as defined by DSM-IV
2 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in eating disorder behaviors
Time Frame: 2 years
Eating disorder behaviors as measured by the Eating Disorder Examination. We will also measure attitudes related to eating disorder onset risk
2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Stanford University

Collaborators

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

February 1, 2001

Primary Completion (Actual)

April 30, 2012

Study Completion (Actual)

April 30, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 16, 2002

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 16, 2002

First Posted (Estimate)

December 17, 2002

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 18, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 16, 2020

Last Verified

March 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R01MH060453 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • DSIR CT-P (Other Identifier: NIMH)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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