Can Psychotherapy Decrease Severe Obesity?

The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of psychodynamic and behavioral inpatient treatments of severely obese patients regarding weight and distress. In a longitudinal study obese patients (body mass index, BMI 35) were randomly assigned to behavioral or to psychodynamic inpatient treatment.

Mostly female (n = 267; 85%) obese patients with psychiatric and somatic comorbidity (age 20-64 years, BMI 35-74) were examined with standardized self-report scales on distress (SCL-90R), interpersonal problems (Inventory of Interpersonal Problems), eating behavior (Fragebogen zum Essverhalten) and body image (Fragebogen zum Körperbild).

During 49 days (mean) of inpatient treatment, patients lost an average of 5.6 kg (4.4%) in the behavioral (n = 130) and 5.7 kg (4.4%) in the psychodynamic setting (n = 137). In both settings, eating behavior, well-being and body image also improved significantly. One year after discharge, return rate was 73%. Forty percent had further reduced their weight (by more than 5% compared to intake), 36% had regained weight, but were still below intake level, and another 24% had increased weight above intake. Behavioral and psychodynamic treatments were equally effective reducing weight and distress over 1 year.

Media Contact

Jörg Wiltink alfa

More Information:

http://www.klinik.uni-mainz.de

All latest news from the category: Health and Medicine

This subject area encompasses research and studies in the field of human medicine.

Among the wide-ranging list of topics covered here are anesthesiology, anatomy, surgery, human genetics, hygiene and environmental medicine, internal medicine, neurology, pharmacology, physiology, urology and dental medicine.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Microscopic basis of a new form of quantum magnetism

Not all magnets are the same. When we think of magnetism, we often think of magnets that stick to a refrigerator’s door. For these types of magnets, the electronic interactions…

An epigenome editing toolkit to dissect the mechanisms of gene regulation

A study from the Hackett group at EMBL Rome led to the development of a powerful epigenetic editing technology, which unlocks the ability to precisely program chromatin modifications. Understanding how…

NASA selects UF mission to better track the Earth’s water and ice

NASA has selected a team of University of Florida aerospace engineers to pursue a groundbreaking $12 million mission aimed at improving the way we track changes in Earth’s structures, such…

Partners & Sponsors