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Changing Eating Behavior Using Cognitive Training

Changing Eating Behavior Using Cognitive Training: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04450524
Enrollment
135
Registered
2020-06-29
Start date
2020-08-15
Completion date
2021-01-31
Last updated
2022-08-23

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Obesity, Overweight, Weight Loss

Keywords

Obesity, Overweight, Weight loss, Hypnosis, Food Inhibition Training, Go No Go Task

Brief summary

Obesity is a global health problem. New and more efficient interventions are needed to overcome this disease. This randomized clinical trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of changing eating behavior using cognitive training. These types of interventions have the role of creating new routines (unconsciously processed), in terms of healthy eating behaviors.

Detailed description

This is a randomized clinical trial with three groups. Participants will be found through social media announcements. The active interventions of cognitive training will be delivered at two groups: one group will receive through hypnosis and the other will receive through food inhibition training (a GO NO GO task). The control group will receive a simple GO NO GO task as an active placebo. The trial will be exclusively online and it consists of five sessions. Participants will complete their tasks on four Zoom sessions. Cognitive, emotional and behavioral data will be taken at four times: before the intervention starts, in the middle (after two sessions), at the end and at two follow up moments: one month and six months after the trial ends.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALHypnosis

Participants received hypnotic induction with hypnotic suggestions for their eating behaviors.

BEHAVIORALFood inhibition training

Training the associations between foods and motor inhibition using a GO-NO-GO computer task.

BEHAVIORALControl

A simple GO-NO-GO task

Sponsors

Babes-Bolyai University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)

Masking description

The participants will not know in which group they belong: intervention or control.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Adults * Persons who like high-calorie foods (self-report food preferences) * Persons who have a medium to high score at the self-report daily snacking * BMI\>25

Exclusion criteria

* Enrolled in a weight loss program * Under 18 years * Health problems that can affect weight loss * Persons with clinical problems such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, mental problems, persons who take medicines that can affect weight loss

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Eating behaviour 2 - Quantity of calories intakeBaseline, pre-intervention; in the week of the intervention; 1 month; 6 month.A self reported diary of food in two different day of the week (weekday and weekend day)
Change in Eating behaviour 3Baseline, pre-intervention; immediately after the intervention;1 month; 6 month.Self-reported Three Factor Eating Questionnaire. The scale measures three aspects of eating behavior: cognitive restraint (CR), uncontrolled eating (UE), and emotional eating (EE). It has 21 items and the responses are on a four-point Likert scale ranging from 1 Definitely true to 4 Definitely false with three subscales one for each domain. Higher scores indicate greater CR, UE, or EE.
Change in WeightBaseline, pre-intervention; immediately after the intervention; 1 month; 6 month.Weight in kg
Change in Eating behaviour 1 - Daily SnackingBaseline, pre-intervention; immediately after the intervention; 1 month; 6 month.A self reported questionnaire of high calorie food frequency

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Eating PreferencesBaseline, pre-intervention; immediately after the intervention; 1 month; 6 month.Self-report - A three-point Likert scale created by authors about the preferences of high-calorie food. Higher scores mean a high preference for high-calorie food.
Change in Eating IntentionsBaseline, pre-intervention; during the intervention (after 2 days), immediately after the intervention; 1 month; 6 month.Self-report - A three-point Likert scale created by authors. Higher scores indicate a stronger desire to eat high-calorie food.
Change in Positive and Negative AffectBaseline, pre-intervention; during the intervention (after 2 days), immediately after the intervention;1 month; 6 month.Self-report - Positive and Negative Schedule (PANAS). The responses are made using Likert type ratings from 1 - Not at all, to 5 Very much. Higher scores on negative affect representing higher levels of negative affect and higher scores on positive affect representing higher levels of positive affect.
Change in MotivationBaseline, pre-intervention; during the intervention (after 2 days), immediately after the intervention; 1 month; 6 month.Self-report - Intrinsic Motivation Inventory. The interest/enjoyment subscale is considered the self-report measure of intrinsic motivation; The responses are made using Likert type ratings from 1 - not at all true to 7 very true. Higher total scores indicate higher intrinsic motivation.
Change in Self-EfficacyBaseline, pre-intervention; during the intervention (after 2 days), immediately after the intervention; 1 month; 6 month.Self-report - Weight Efficacy Lifestyle Questionnaire. The response is given using a Likert scale in 0 to10 points: 0 for Not confident at all and 10 indicates Very confident. Higher total scores are associated with higher eating self-efficacy and motivation to make positive lifestyle changes.

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
Behavioral ActivationBaseline, pre-intervention.The Fun Seeking Subscale from the Behavioral Inhibition/Behavioral Activation Scales with 4 self-rated items using a 4-point Likert scale (1=very true for me, to 4=very false for me). Higher scores are linked to impulsivity.
Specific to food irrationalityBaseline, pre-intervention.Self report - Irrational Food Beliefs Scale. The responses are made using Likert type ratings from 1 - strongly disagree to 4 strongly agree. Highest scores are significantly associated with weight gain and poor weight loss maintenance.

Countries

Romania

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026