Psychological treatments of binge eating disorder

Abstract

Context: Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is an effective specialty treatment for binge eating disorder (BED). Behavioral weight loss treatment (BWL) and guided self-help based on cognitive behavior therapy (CBTgsh) have both resulted in short-term reductions in binge eating in obese patients with BED. Objective: To test whether patients with BED require specialty therapy beyond BWL and whether IPT is more effective than either BWL or CBTgsh in patients with a high negative affect during a 2-year follow-up. Design: Randomized, active control efficacy trial. Setting: University outpatient clinics. Participants: Two hundred five women and men with a body mass index between 27 and 45 who met DSM-IV criteria for BED. Intervention: Twenty sessions of IPT or BWL or 10 sessions of CBTgsh during 6 months. Main Outcome Measures: Binge eating assessed by the Eating Disorder Examination. Results: At 2-year follow-up, both IPT and CBTgsh resulted in greater remission from binge eating than BWL (P