Treatment of the sensory and motor components of urges to eat (eating addiction?): a mobile-health pilot study for obesi
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Treatment of the sensory and motor components of urges to eat (eating addiction?): a mobile‑health pilot study for obesity in young people Robert A. Pretlow1 · Carol M. Stock2 · Leigh Roeger3 · Stephen Allison3 Received: 21 January 2019 / Accepted: 12 December 2019 © The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Purpose Compelling evidence indicates that an addictive process might contribute to overeating/obesity. We hypothesize that this process consists of two components: (a) a sensory addiction to the taste, texture, and temperature of food, and (b) a motor addiction to the actions of eating (e.g., biting, chewing, crunching, sucking, swallowing). Previously, we reported a mobile health application (mHealth app) obesity intervention addressing the sensory addiction component, based on staged food withdrawal. We propose that the motor addiction component can be treated using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)based strategies for body-focused repetitive behaviors (BRFB), e.g., nail biting, skin picking, and hair pulling. Methods The present study tested the effectiveness of CBT-based, BFRB therapies added to the staged withdrawal app. Thirty-five participants, ages 8–20, 51.4% females, mean zBMI 2.17, participated in a 4-month study using the app, followed by a 5-month extension without the app. Using staged withdrawal, participants withdrew from specific, self-identified, “problem” foods until cravings resolved; then from non-specific snacking; and lastly from excessive mealtime amounts. BFRB therapies utilized concurrently included: distractions, competing behaviors, triggers avoidance, relaxation methods, aversion techniques, and distress tolerance. Results Latent growth curve analysis determined that mean body weight and zBMI decreased significantly more than in a previous study that used only staged withdrawal (p
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