Bulimia NervosaINSPIRENCT02716831
Improving Treatments for Bulimia Nervosa: Innovation in Psychological Interventions for Regulating Eating
A study testing Nutritional Counseling & Acceptance-based Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders in people with Bulimia Nervosa and Bulimia, run by Drexel University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The purpose of the study is to test a novel, acceptance-based behavioral treatment for bulimia nervosa (BN) in adults. This treatment is a type of individual psychotherapy called Nutritional Counseling And Acceptance-Based Therapy (N-CAAT) that enhances existing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for BN by… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Bulimia Nervosa, Bulimia, Binge Eating
- What is being tested?
- Nutritional Counseling & Acceptance-based Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 50 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- May 2015to Dec 2019
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Meets Diagnostic Statistical Manual(DSM)-5 criteria for Bulimia Nervosa
- Age 18 or above
Who cannot join
- Body Mass Index (BMI) below 85% of ideal body weight or other medical complications that prevent ability to engage in outpatient treatment
- Acute suicide risk
- Co-morbid diagnosis of a psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, or substance dependence
- Diagnosis of mental retardation or a pervasive development disorder
- Current pregnancy
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Drexel University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104
Rowan Hunt, BA, 215-553-7186, edresearch@drexel.edu
Adrienne S Juarascio, PhD
About this study
Official title: Addressing Weight History to Improve Behavioral Treatments for Bulimia Nervosa
The purpose of the study is to test a novel, acceptance-based behavioral treatment for bulimia nervosa (BN) in adults. This treatment is a type of individual psychotherapy called Nutritional Counseling And Acceptance-Based Therapy (N-CAAT) that enhances existing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for BN by incorporating acceptance-based behavioral strategies and nutritional counseling to help patients eliminate BN symptoms.
Read the detailed description
Bulimia nervosa (BN) is an eating disorder characterized by a pattern of binge eating and compensatory behaviors as well as an overemphasis on body weight and shape in self-evaluation. BN has a lifetime prevalence rate of 1-3% and is associated with numerous psychiatric and medical complications. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is regarded as the gold-standard treatment for BN and the treatment approach with the most empirical support to date. However, although CBT has accumulated impressive empirical support for its effectiveness, CBT produces abstinence from binge eating and purging in only 30-50% of treatment completers. Furthermore, relapse is common and many individuals do not maintain treatment gains. Innovative treatments that can improve rates of remission among patients with BN and related disorders are sorely needed for bulimia nervosa and related eating disorders, particularly for individuals for whom existing treatments fail.
Existing CBT may be enhanced by incorporating acceptance-based behavioral strategies and nutritional counseling to help patients eliminate BN symptoms. Acceptance-based behavioral treatments (ABBTs) emphasize "changing what you can and accepting what you can't", which refers to a focus on learning how to accept and tolerate distressing internal experiences (e.g., thoughts, emotions, urges, physical sensations) that might not be directly under the patients' control while choosing to engage in adaptive behavioral choices that are within their control. Patients may benefit from the provision of more adaptive behavioral strategies to maintain weight in a healthy range, which is not a primary goal of existing behavioral treatments. Nutritional counseling (NC), which is designed to promote healthy, non-rigid dietary restraint and exercise habits, can lead to improvements in weight control that may also improve disordered eating behaviors. As described above, a primary maintenance factor for BN is the strict and rigid dieting behavior that triggers urges to binge. Several studies have indicated that the provision of healthy restraint strategies to patients with BN can reduce binge eating and purging behaviors, suggesting that this approach can be an effective treatment alone or in combination with other behavioral techniques.
Study Objectives-
- Test the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of Nutritional Counseling And Acceptance-based Therapy (N-CAAT) for bulimia nervosa (BN) in a small pilot RCT trial
- Assess the mechanisms of action to enhance treatment development
- Evaluate the feasibility of recruitment, randomization, retention, assessment procedures, and implementation of the novel treatment to enhance the probability of success in subsequent larger RCTs
- Being tested
- Nutritional Counseling & Acceptance-based Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders
- Keywords
- Bulimia Nervosa, Eating Disorders, Binge Eating, Bulimia, Purging
- Medical subject headings
- Bulimia Nervosa, Bulimia, Feeding and Eating Disorders
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Nutritional Counseling & Acceptance-based TherapyBehavioural
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating DisordersBehavioural
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling & Acceptance-based Therapy | Experimental | Nutritional Counseling \& Acceptance-based Therapy (N-CAAT) incorporates acceptance-based behavioral strategies and nutritional counseling designed to encourage willingness to tolerate distress and the ability to pursue chosen values in an adaptive manner despite distressing internal experiences. In addition to these skills, a principal focus of the treatment will be on identifying, practicing, and achieving behavioral goals, such as normalization of eating, reduction of maladaptive dietary restraint and restriction, and elimination of compensatory behaviors. Receives: Behavioral: Nutritional Counseling & Acceptance-based Therapy |
| Cognitive Therapy for Eating Disorders | Active comparator | Participants in the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders (CBT) condition will receive 20-sessions of standard CBT for eating disorders based on the treatment approach developed by Dr. Christopher Fairburn and published in his book Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Eating Disorders. Receives: Behavioral: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Binge and purge frequency assessed by the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE)
Binge and purge frequency as assessed by the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE)
Measured: Change from Baseline Binge and Purge Frequency at 5 months and 11 months
Secondary outcomes (2)
Body Mass Index (BMI)
Body Mass Index (BMI) will be assessed to ensure weight remains in a healthy range and to track weight change
Measured: Change from Baseline BMI at 1 month, 3 months, 5 months, and 11 months
Broader Psychological Functioning assessed by the Symptom Checklist-90-Revisited
Broader psychological functioning will be assessed by the Symptom Checklist-90-Revisited (SC) which assesses a broad range of psychological problems and symptoms of psychopathology
Measured: Change from Baseline Symptom Checklist-90 Revisited at 1 month, 3 months, 5 months, and 11 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted23 Mar 2016 (estimated)
- Study startMay 2015
- Primary completionDec 2019 (estimated)
- Study completionDec 2019 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Bulimia NervosaStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 50 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Drexel University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Adrienne S Juarascio, PhD, Principal investigator, Drexel University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02716831
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 1501003366
- Other IDs
- 1K23MH105680-01A1
- Acronym
- INSPIRE
- Status last verified
- Aug 2018
- First submitted
- 11 Mar 2016
- Last updated
- 14 Sep 2018
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
Publications
Parker MN, Wilkinson ML, Hunt RA, Ortiz A, Manasse SM, Juarascio AS. Eating expectancies and hedonic hunger among individuals with bulimia-spectrum eating disorders who plan binge-eating episodes. Int J Eat Disord. 2022 Jan;55(1):120-124. doi: 10.1002/eat.23628. Epub 2021 Oct 13.
PubMed 34643949
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 14 Sep 2018. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Addressing Weight History to Improve Behavioral Treatments for Bulimia Nervosa
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02716831
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- INSPIRE / 1501003366
- Keywords
- Bulimia Nervosa, Eating Disorders, Binge Eating, Bulimia, Purging
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Unknown status
- Enrolment
- 50 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Drexel UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
- Study start
- May 2015
- Primary completion
- Dec 2019 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Dec 2019 (estimated)
- First posted
- 23 Mar 2016 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The purpose of the study is to test a novel, acceptance-based behavioral treatment for bulimia nervosa (BN) in adults. This treatment is a type of individual psychotherapy called Nutritional Counseling And Acceptance-Based Therapy (N-CAAT) that enhances existing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for BN by incorporating acceptance-based behavioral strategies and nutritional counseling to help patients eliminate BN symptoms.
Detailed description
Bulimia nervosa (BN) is an eating disorder characterized by a pattern of binge eating and compensatory behaviors as well as an overemphasis on body weight and shape in self-evaluation. BN has a lifetime prevalence rate of 1-3% and is associated with numerous psychiatric and medical complications. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is regarded as the gold-standard treatment for BN and the treatment approach with the most empirical support to date. However, although CBT has accumulated impressive empirical support for its effectiveness, CBT produces abstinence from binge eating and purging in only 30-50% of treatment completers. Furthermore, relapse is common and many individuals do not maintain treatment gains. Innovative treatments that can improve rates of remission among patients with BN and related disorders are sorely needed for bulimia nervosa and related eating disorders, particularly for individuals for whom existing treatments fail.
Existing CBT may be enhanced by incorporating acceptance-based behavioral strategies and nutritional counseling to help patients eliminate BN symptoms. Acceptance-based behavioral treatments (ABBTs) emphasize "changing what you can and accepting what you can't", which refers to a focus on learning how to accept and tolerate distressing internal experiences (e.g., thoughts, emotions, urges, physical sensations) that might not be directly under the patients' control while choosing to engage in adaptive behavioral choices that are within their control. Patients may benefit from the provision of more adaptive behavioral strategies to maintain weight in a healthy range, which is not a primary goal of existing behavioral treatments. Nutritional counseling (NC), which is designed to promote healthy, non-rigid dietary restraint and exercise habits, can lead to improvements in weight control that may also improve disordered eating behaviors. As described above, a primary maintenance factor for BN is the strict and rigid dieting behavior that triggers urges to binge. Several studies have indicated that the provision of healthy restraint strategies to patients with BN can reduce binge eating and purging behaviors, suggesting that this approach can be an effective treatment alone or in combination with other behavioral techniques.
Study Objectives-
- Test the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of Nutritional Counseling And Acceptance-based Therapy (N-CAAT) for bulimia nervosa (BN) in a small pilot RCT trial
- Assess the mechanisms of action to enhance treatment development
- Evaluate the feasibility of recruitment, randomization, retention, assessment procedures, and implementation of the novel treatment to enhance the probability of success in subsequent larger RCTs
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling & Acceptance-based Therapy | Experimental | Behavioral: Nutritional Counseling & Acceptance-based TherapyNutritional Counseling \& Acceptance-based Therapy (N-CAAT) incorporates acceptance-based behavioral strategies and nutritional counseling designed to encourage willingness to tolerate distress and the ability to pursue chosen values in an adaptive manner despite distressing internal experiences. In addition to these skills, a principal focus of the treatment will be on identifying, practicing, and achieving behavioral goals, such as normalization of eating, reduction of maladaptive dietary restraint and restriction, and elimination of compensatory behaviors. |
| Cognitive Therapy for Eating Disorders | Active comparator | Behavioral: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating DisordersParticipants in the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders (CBT) condition will receive 20-sessions of standard CBT for eating disorders based on the treatment approach developed by Dr. Christopher Fairburn and published in his book Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Eating Disorders. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Meets Diagnostic Statistical Manual(DSM)-5 criteria for Bulimia Nervosa
- Age 18 or above
Key exclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Body Mass Index (BMI) below 85% of ideal body weight or other medical complications that prevent ability to engage in outpatient treatment
- Acute suicide risk
- Co-morbid diagnosis of a psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, or substance dependence
- Diagnosis of mental retardation or a pervasive development disorder
- Current pregnancy
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Nutritional Counseling & Acceptance-based Therapy | Behavioural | Counseling & Acceptance-based Therapy |
| Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders | Behavioural | Cognitive Therapy for Eating Disorders |
Primary outcome
Binge and purge frequency assessed by the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE)
Time frame: Change from Baseline Binge and Purge Frequency at 5 months and 11 months
Binge and purge frequency as assessed by the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE)
2 secondary outcomes
Body Mass Index (BMI)
Time frame: Change from Baseline BMI at 1 month, 3 months, 5 months, and 11 months
Broader Psychological Functioning assessed by the Symptom Checklist-90-Revisited
Time frame: Change from Baseline Symptom Checklist-90 Revisited at 1 month, 3 months, 5 months, and 11 months
Results and safety
Results are not available in the source record.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 14 Sep 2018.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 34643949Parker MN, Wilkinson ML, Hunt RA, Ortiz A, Manasse SM, Juarascio AS. Eating expectancies and hedonic hunger among individuals with bulimia-spectrum eating disorders who plan binge-eating episodes. Int J Eat Disord. 2022 Jan;55(1):120-124. doi: 10.1002/eat.23628. Epub 2021 Oct 13.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Adrienne S Juarascio, PhD principal investigator
Drexel University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Nutritional Counseling & Acceptance-based Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders in people with Bulimia Nervosa and Bulimia, run by Drexel University at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: status not confirmed, as of the sponsor's last update on 14 Sep 2018. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
Results are not available in the source record.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Rowan Hunt, BA (215-553-7186, edresearch@drexel.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Binge and purge frequency assessed by the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) (time frame: Change from Baseline Binge and Purge Frequency at 5 months and 11 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT02716831, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 14 Sep 2018; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 8 Nov 2026.