Abstracts

The Feasibility of a Binge Eating Intervention in African-American Women who are Overweight or Obese

by Rachel Woodson Goode




Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Department:
Year: 2017
Posted: 02/01/2018
Record ID: 2154237
Full text PDF: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/31504/1/GOODE_2017a_ETD.pdf;http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/31504/


Abstract

African-American women have the highest rates of obesity in the United States, and are at increased risk for a variety of co-morbid health conditions. A significant number of African-American women may have untreated eating disorders that perpetuate their propensity toward obesity. A specific eating pattern that is of serious concern is binge eating, a condition associated with severe obesity. To our knowledge, no intervention research has attempted to treat binge eating among African-American women. In light of this void in the intervention research literature, the purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of Appetite Awareness Treatment (AAT), an 8-week cognitive-behavioral binge eating intervention, to reduce binge-eating episodes among African-American women who are overweight and obese. Using a randomized controlled trial design, adult women were randomized to AAT or a Wait-list control (WLC) AAT condition. The sample (N=31), had a mean (SD) age of 48.81 12.79 years, and a body mass index of 33.70 3.90. Within our sample, 83.8% (n=26) completed assessments at 0 and 8 weeks. Overall retention rates were as follows: AAT (n=14, 87.5%) and WLC (n=12; 80%). Moreover, participants completed an average of 2.73/5, or 55% of all homework assignments.To examine the preliminary effectiveness of the AAT intervention, linear mixed modeling was used to examine the differences between the AAT and WLC, as a function of group, time, and group X time interaction, on the outcome variables of BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, binge eating, eating self-efficacy, and depressive symptoms. At the end of the 8-week intervention, the women in the AAT group had lower mean binge eating scores and higher eating self-efficacy scores than the women in the WLC group. The results of the study suggest that the AAT may improve the eating behaviors and weight outcomes in African-American women who are overweight or obese. The results of this feasibility study highlight the need for the next phase of treatment a study with a large enough sample (and the associated statistical power) to investigate the efficacy of the AAT in a sample of African-American women, with increased variability in the BMI.