Acceptance and commitment therapy as an adjunct to the MOVE! programme: a randomized controlled trial

N Afari, M S Herbert, K M Godfrey, J G Cuneo, J S Salamat, S Mostoufi, M Gasperi, K Ober, A Backhaus, T Rutledge, J L Wetherell, N Afari, M S Herbert, K M Godfrey, J G Cuneo, J S Salamat, S Mostoufi, M Gasperi, K Ober, A Backhaus, T Rutledge, J L Wetherell

Abstract

Objective: The current study tested the efficacy of an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) group intervention for disinhibited eating behaviour as an adjunct to the Veterans Affairs MOVE!© weight management programme.

Methods: Veterans (N = 88) with overweight or obesity who completed the MOVE! weight management programme and self-identified as having problems with 'stress-related eating' were randomized to four 2-h weekly ACT sessions or a continued behavioural weight-loss (BWL) intervention. Assessments were completed at baseline, post-treatment and 3- and 6-month follow-up on outcomes of interest including measures of disinhibited eating patterns, obesity-related quality of life, weight-related experiential avoidance and weight.

Results: The BWL group exhibited significantly greater reductions in binge eating behaviour at post-treatment compared with the ACT group. Significant improvements in other outcomes were found with minimal differences between groups. In both groups, decreases in weight-related experiential avoidance were related to improvements in binge eating behaviour.

Conclusions: Taken together, the continued BWL intervention resulted in larger improvements in binge eating behaviour than the ACT intervention. The two groups showed similar improvements in other disinhibited eating outcomes. Future studies are encouraged to determine if more integrated or longer duration of ACT treatment may maximize eating outcomes in MOVE.Trial Registration Number: This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov database (NCT01757847).

Keywords: Acceptance and commitment therapy; binge eating; obesity; veterans.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Published 2019. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Obesity Science & Practice published by World Obesity and The Obesity Society and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram in a randomized controlled trial comparing an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) group intervention with a behavioural weight‐loss (BWL) group intervention.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean (standard error) scores on the Binge Eating Scale plotted separately by acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and behavioural weight loss (BWL) groups.

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Source: PubMed

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