Can we change binge eating behaviour by interventions addressing food-related impulsivity? A systematic review

Abstract

Background An extensive amount of research has underlined the potential role of impulsivity in the development and maintenance of binge eating behaviour. Food-related impulsivity has particularly received attention given its close relationship with overeating and binge eating episodes. Besides the available evidence, our understanding regarding the effectiveness of treatment modalities for binge eating targeting impulsivity and related constructs (e.g., food craving, inhibitory control, and reward sensitivity) is limited. Thus, this systematic review aimed to investigate whether binge eating behaviour is changeable by interventions that are impulsivity-focused and food-related and whether one of these interventions is superior to the others. Method A search on PubMed and PsycINFO was performed for relevant articles published up to September 2020. Studies delivering food-related impulsivity treatment to individuals suffering from binge eating episodes and including a control condition without this treatment were investigated. Following the search, 15 studies meeting the eligibility criteria were analysed. Results Analyses revealed that available impulsivity-focused approaches can be categorised as psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, computer-assisted cognitive training, and direct neuromodulation interventions. Regarding their effectiveness, it appeared that all of these approaches might be promising to change food-related impulsivity in individuals with binge eating episodes, particularly to decrease binge eating symptoms. However, a superior intervention approach in this early state of evidence could not be determined, although food-related cue exposure, transcranial direct current stimulation, and the combination of several interventions seem fruitful. Conclusion Efforts to treat binge eating behaviour with interventions focusing on food-related impulsivity appear to be promising, particularly concerning binge eating frequency, and also for food craving and inhibitory control. Given limited research and varying methods, it was not possible to conclude whether one impulsivity-focused intervention can be considered superior to others.

Promoting farsighted decisions via episodic future thinking: A meta-analysis.

“…Its contribution to various psychological disorders highlights the potential of creating interventions that may render individuals less impulsive (Levens et al, 2019; Peters & Büchel, 2011; Rung & Madden, 2018b). Accordingly, a number of behavioral trainings are currently being trialed for reducing impulsivity (İnce et al, 2021; Scholten et al, 2019). Our results corroborate that EFT constitutes a candidate mechanism for altering maladaptive, impulsive behavior and suggest that it may be suitable for inclusion in future trials (e.g., Patel & Amlung, 2020).…”

Ameliorating cognitive control in patients with binge eating disorder by electrical brain stimulation: study protocol of the randomized controlled ACCElect pilot trial

“…Recently, NIBS has been used to influence eating behaviour and has been probed in the treatment of eating and weight disorders, while most studies have used tDCS as a technique [ 15 , 17 , 19 ]. Evidence in healthy and sub-clinical groups as well as in people affected by obesity suggests that tDCS and other forms of NIBS can reduce (short-term) food cravings [ 15 ], however, studies investigating the potential of NIBS in clinical populations are still very scarce and have mostly focused on patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) [ 15 ].…”

“…BED is also associated with dysfunctions in prefrontal brain areas [ 14 ] and patients with BED have demonstrated impairments in a range of cognitive tasks, predominantly in the domain of inhibitory control [ 9 ]. These tasks can also be used in terms of training tools to enhance cognitive control [ 19 ].…”

A Pilot Event-Related Potentials Study on Mechanisms Underlying a tDCS-Enhanced Food-Specific Response Inhibition Task for Patients With Binge Eating Disorder

“…Throughout the literature, it has been emphasised that the inhibition skills and psychopathology of individuals with BED may show improvement following interventions and training programs targeting food-related impulsivity (Giel et al, 2017a;Brockmeyer et al, 2019;İnce et al, 2021). For example, a recent pilot trial of our workgroup was conducted to test the efficacy of a food-modified antisaccade task combined with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to improve response inhibition in patients with BED (Max et al, 2021).…”