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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents With Bulimia Nervosa and Higher Weight (Online Treatment Study)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents With Bulimia Nervosa and Higher Weight (Online Treatment Study)

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05770947
Enrollment
25
Registered
2023-03-16
Start date
2023-01-24
Completion date
2025-06-27
Last updated
2025-12-18

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

Conditions

Bulimia Nervosa, Overweight or Obesity

Brief summary

This study will test the feasibility and acceptability of two treatments for adolescents with higher weight seeking treatment for bulimia nervosa (binge eating and purging, or going to extremes to lose weight).

Detailed description

This study will test the feasibility and acceptability of two treatments for adolescents with higher weight seeking treatment for bulimia nervosa. Bulimia nervosa is when individuals binge eat (overeat while feeling like they lost control) and purge (do something extreme or unhealthy to lose weight or prevent weight gain). Bulimia nervosa happens across different ages and body sizes. This study is focusing on adolescents who have a larger body size. Adolescents will receive treatment that is 4 months of 45-minute sessions, weekly. Treatment will occur over telehealth (e.g., zoom), and the whole study is online.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALCognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a psychological treatment or talk therapy that integrates how people think, feel, and behave to create new behavior patterns that improve thinking processes and reduce distress.

BEHAVIORALMindfulness

Mindfulness is a psychological treatment or talk therapy that practices different coping skills to improve thinking processes and reduce distress.

Sponsors

National Eating Disorders Association
CollaboratorOTHER
Yale University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

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

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
12 Years to 19 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Have higher weight (\>85th BMI percentile or \>85th percentile in past year) * 2 binge/purge episodes per month for the prior 3 months * Be otherwise-healthy youth (i.e., no uncontrolled or serious medical conditions); * Read, comprehend, and write English at a sufficient level to complete study-related materials; * Provide an approval form from a healthcare provider; * Provide a signed and dated written assent (or consent for youth age 18 or 19) prior to study participation; * Provide a signed and dated written consent from one parent prior to study participation; * Be available for participation in the study for 4 months.

Exclusion criteria

* Medical or psychiatric conditions requiring hospitalization or intensive care * anorexia nervosa * developmental or cognitive disorders that would interfere with therapy * pregnancy or breastfeeding * concurrent treatments (medication or psychological) influencing appetite or weight * began hormone therapy in prior 3 months

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Bulimia nervosa remission assessed by the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q)baseline and post-treatment (Month 4)Remission from binge eating and purging behaviors will be assessed by EDE-Q. The EDE-Q is a self-report questionnaire with four subscales and a global severity score. the global score ranges from 0-6 with higher scores reflecting greater severity of eating disorder behaviors.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Binge eating frequency assessed by the EDE-Qbaseline and post-treatment (Month 4)Number of episodes of binge eating in past month
Change in Purging frequency assessed by the EDE-Qbaseline and post-treatment (Month 4)Number of episodes of purging in past month
Change in eating disorder psychopathology assessed by the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) global score.baseline and post-treatment (Month 4)Eating disorder psychopathology will be assessed using the EDE-Q global score. The EDE-Q is a self-report questionnaire with four subscales and a global severity score. the global score ranges from 0-6 with higher scores reflecting greater severity of eating disorder psychopathology.
Change in Depression assessed using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)baseline and post-treatment (Month 4)Depression will be assessed using the PHQ-9. PHQ-9 is a validated questionnaire used to screen for depression with a range of scores from 0-27. Higher scores indicate more severe depressive symptoms.
Change in Self-esteem assessed using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES)baseline and post-treatment (Month 4)Self-esteem will be assessed using the RSES. The RSES is a self-report measure that consists of 10 statements related to overall feelings of self-worth or self-acceptance. The items are answered on a four-point scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The total score ranges from 0 to 30 with higher scores indicating higher self esteem.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

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