The ACTyourCHANGE in Teens Study Protocol: An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-Based Intervention for Adolescents with Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

This Randomized Controlled Trial [(RCT) aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-based intervention combined with treatment as usual (TAU) compared to TAU only in improving psychological conditions in a sample of adolescents with obesity (body mass index, BMI > 97th percentile for age and sex) within the context of a wider multidisciplinary rehabilitation program for weight loss. Fifty consecutive adolescents (12–17 years) of both genders with obesity will be recruited among the patients hospitalized in a clinical center for obesity rehabilitation and randomly allocated into two experimental conditions: ACT + TAU vs. TAU only. Both groups will attend a three-week in-hospital multidisciplinary rehabilitation program for weight loss. The ACT + TAU condition comprises a psychological intervention based on ACT combined with a standard psychological assessment and support to the hospitalization. The TAU comprises the standard psychological assessment and support to the hospitalization. At pre- to post-psychological intervention, participants will complete the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth, the Psychological Well-Being Scale, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, and the Emotional Eating subscale of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire to assess psychological well-being as the primary outcome and experiential avoidance, psychological distress, emotional dysregulation, and emotional eating as secondary outcomes. Repeated-measures ANOVAs (2 × 2) will be conducted. The study will assess the effectiveness of a brief ACT-based intervention for adolescents with obesity in improving their psychological conditions by targeting specific core processes of the ACT framework (openness, awareness, and engagement). Future directions of the study will assess whether these psychological processes will contribute to addressing long-term weight loss.

The Mediating Role of Psychological Inflexibility in the Relationship Between Anxiety, Depression, and Emotional Eating in Adult Individuals With Obesity

“…Similar findings are also consistent with the affect regulation model positing that negative emotions are predictors of emotional eating (Spoor et al, 2007;Goossens et al, 2009). Thus, emotional eating might serve to reduce the intensity of negative emotions (Spoor et al, 2007;Haedt-Matt and Keel, 2011;Macht and Simons, 2011;Haedt-Matt et al, 2014;Litwin et al, 2017;Guerrini Usubini et al, 2021).…”

Women’s EmotionS, Trauma and EmpowErMent (W-ES.T.EEM) study protocol: a psychoeducational support intervention for victims of domestic violence – a randomised controlled trial

“…In line with previous studies, an a priori power analysis was performed to calculate the minimum sample size required to conduct this study 62–64. The G*Power software (V.3.1.9.2)65 66 was used.…”

Cognitive Fusion and Emotional Eating among Adolescents with Obesity: A Preliminary Cross-Sectional Study

“…This study is part of a larger project entitled “the ACTyourCHANGE in Teens” (registered protocol on ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT04896372) [ 15 ], an RCT which aims to evaluate the effects of an ACT-based intervention on psychological conditions of adolescents with obesity. The intervention was part of a multidisciplinary in-hospital weight loss program.…”