Binge Eating Self-help Treatment for University Students (BEST4US)

Targeting Binge Eating to Prevent Weight Gain in College Students

BEST4US compares the effectiveness of two forms of self-help interventions that target college students, ages 18 years to 22 years, who report binge eating. The overall question is whether one or the other format will prevent excess weight gain and lead to differences in eating behaviors. The two formats are (1) "pure self-help" (receipt of a self-help program via book form or online texts) and (2) a combination of the self-help program and guidance provided by a trained peer coach over the course of 8 weekly sessions.

Study Overview

• Status: Unknown
• Conditions: Obesity; Binge Eating Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Guided Self-Help; Behavioral: Pure Self-Help

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 130
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Connecticut
    • Manchester, Connecticut, United States, 06040
      • Manchester Community College Department of Psychology
    • Middletown, Connecticut, United States, 06459
      • Wesleyan University Department of Psychology

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 22 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• binge eating episodes at least once per week in the past 28 days
• 18 to 22 years old
• full-time student at Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT, USA) or Manchester Community College (Manchester, CT, USA)

Exclusion Criteria:

• purging more than once per week in the past three months
• BMI less than 18 or greater than/equal to 40
• currently pregnant
• severe depressive symptoms or suicidality

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Guided Self-Help; Participants receive self-help materials, including a book (Overcoming Binge Eating by C. Fairburn, handouts, and online resources. In addition, participants receive 8 individual sessions with a peer coach who supports participants in working the self-help program.	Behavioral: Guided Self-Help
Other: Pure Self-Help; Participants receive self-help materials, including a book (Overcoming Binge Eating by C. Fairburn, handouts, and online resources.	Behavioral: Pure Self-Help

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
BMI	The primary outcome measure is change in BMI from randomization. Height and weight will be measured by study staff at the baseline visit using a stadiometer (collecting height measures twice and reporting the average) and a calibrated scale (light clothing, street shoes removed). BMI will be calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in squared centimeters. Weight will be re-measured at 8 week- and 6 month assessments. BMI change is a primary-, and incidence of obesity (i.e., obesity onset since baseline, BMI > 30) is a secondary outcome variable. While we assess weight at the post-treatment assessment, the key question of our study is whether the intervention will reduce excess weight gain at 6-month follow-up.	Baseline, post-intervention (8-week), and 6-month follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Cessation of Binge Eating	Binge eating is assessed by clinical interview using an abbreviated version of the Eating Disorders Examination (EDE-16e) at baseline, post-treatment (8-week), and 6-month follow-up. Specifically, the EDE sections on 7-day meal patterns, overeating episodes, and the frequency of inappropriate compensatory behaviors will be administered. The key question of our study is whether the intervention will eliminate binge eating at 6-month follow-up (no reported binge eating episodes in the 28 days prior to the 6-month follow-up).	Baseline, post-intervention (8-week), and 6-month follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Francine Rosselli
• Collaborators: Wesleyan University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ruth Striegel, PhD, Wesleyan University; Study Director: Francine Rosselli, PhD, Manchester Community College

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2013
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): September 1, 2014
• Study Completion (Anticipated): September 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 20, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 24, 2013
• First Posted (Estimate): June 27, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): June 27, 2013
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 24, 2013
• Last Verified: June 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Obesity; Eating disorder; Weight gain prevention; Binge eating
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Signs and Symptoms, Digestive; Hyperphagia; Bulimia; Feeding and Eating Disorders; Binge-Eating Disorder
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1R15DK092768-O1A1; 1R15DK092768 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)