Power, D., Jones, A., Keyworth, C. orcid.org/0000-0002-7815-6174 et al. (7 more authors) (2025) Emotional Eating interventions for adults living with overweight and obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis of behaviour change techniques. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics (JHND), 38 (1). e13410. ISSN 0952-3871
Abstract
Background
Emotional eating (EE) is a barrier to the long-term success of weight loss interventions. Psychological interventions targeting EE have been shown to reduce EE scores and weight (kg), though the mechanisms remain unclear. This review and meta-analysis aimed to identify the specific behaviour change techniques (BCTs) associated with improved outcomes.
Methods
This is a review update and extension, with new studies extracted from searches of CINAHL, PsycINFO, MEDLINE and EMBASE 1 January 2022 to 31 April 2023. EE interventions for adults with BMI > 25 kg/m² were considered for inclusion. Paper screening, extraction, BCT-coding and risk of bias were completed using the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist, Behaviour Change Taxonomy v1 (BCTTv1) and Risk of Bias2 (RoB2)/Risk of Bias In Non-randomised Studies (ROBINS-I) tool. Narrative syntheses and random effects multi-level meta-analyses were conducted.
Results
In total, 6729 participants were included across 47 studies (13 identified in the update). Forty-two studies contributed to the pooled estimate for the impact of interventions on EE (SMD = −0.99 [95% CI: −0.73 to −1.25], p < 0.001). Thirty-two studies contributed to the pooled estimate for the impact of interventions on weight (−4.09 kg [95% CI: −2.76 to −5.43 kg], p < 0.001). Five BCTs related to identity, values and self-regulation were associated with notable improvements to both weight and EE (‘incompatible beliefs’, ‘goal setting outcome’. ‘review outcome goals’, ‘feedback on behaviour’ and ‘pros/cons’).
Conclusion
Implementation and evaluation of the highlighted BCTs are required. Weight management services should consider screening patients for EE to tailor interventions to individual needs.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Dietetic Association. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | behaviour change technique, emotional eating, obesity, psychological intervention, systematic review, weight management |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Psychology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 27 Nov 2024 10:40 |
Last Modified: | 10 Jan 2025 15:16 |
Published Version: | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jhn.13... |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/jhn.13410 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:220132 |