Obesity and Eating Disorders

Advances in the treatment of binge eating and obesity have proliferated in response to the rising rate of obesity worldwide. Novel neurocognitive approaches to treatment target executive functioning, cognitive biases, learning behaviors, and emotion regulation as a means of decreasing binge eating and promoting weight loss and weight maintenance behaviors. Specifically, repeated presentations of neurocognitive tasks, such as those related to approach avoidance and inhibitory control, may improve cognitive functioning and subsequently aid in behavior change. For example, cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) and food cue exposure therapy combine neurocognitive tasks with traditional psychosocial intervention to treat binge-eating disorder and related obesity. Technological advances have also facilitated the delivery of empirically supported treatment interventions to individuals struggling with binge eating and obesity in real world settings. Notably, Ecological Momentary Interventions (EMI) and Just-in-Time Adaptive Interventions (JITAI) harness the capabilities of smartphones and other smart electronic devices to detect maladaptive eating-related behaviors, cognitions, and affect as they happen on a moment-to-moment basis and then deliver helpful information aimed at preventing or reducing the severity of binge eating. Relatedly, virtual reality (VR) also utilizes technology to create real world simulations of problematic situations with the goal of assisting patients in learning how to better cope with environmental triggers to reduce binge eating. While the empirical investigation of such treatment advances is still in its infancy, these treatment areas are likely to grow in popularity and implementation over the years to come.