TY - JOUR
T1 - Virtual Reality-Enhanced Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Morbid Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Study with 1 Year Follow-Up
AU - Manzoni, Gian Mauro
AU - Cesa, Gian Luca
AU - Bacchetta, Monica
AU - Castelnuovo, Gianluca
AU - Conti, Sara
AU - Gaggioli, Andrea
AU - Mantovani, Fabrizia
AU - Molinari, Enrico
AU - Cárdenas-López, Georgina
AU - Riva, Giuseppe
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - It is well known that obesity has a multifactorial etiology, including biological, environmental, and psychological causes. For this reason, obesity treatment requires a more integrated approach than the standard behavioral treatment based on dietary and physical activity only. To test the long-term efficacy of an enhanced cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) of obesity, including a virtual reality (VR) module aimed at both unlocking the negative memory of the body and to modify its behavioral and emotional correlates, 163 female morbidly obese inpatients (body mass index >40) were randomly assigned to three conditions: a standard behavioral inpatient program (SBP), SBP plus standard CBT, and SBP plus VR-enhanced CBT. Patients' weight, eating behavior, and body dissatisfaction were measured at the start and upon completion of the inpatient program. Weight was assessed also at 1 year follow-up. All measures improved significantly at discharge from the inpatient program, and no significant difference was found among the conditions. However, odds ratios showed that patients in the VR condition had a greater probability of maintaining or improving weight loss at 1 year follow-up than SBP patients had (48% vs. 11%, p = 0.004) and, to a lesser extent, than CBT patients had (48% vs. 29%, p = 0.08). Indeed, only the VR-enhanced CBT was effective in further improving weight loss at 1 year follow-up. On the contrary, participants who received only the inpatient program regained back, on average, most of the weight they had lost. Findings support the hypothesis that a VR module addressing the locked negative memory of the body may enhance the long-term efficacy of standard CBT.
AB - It is well known that obesity has a multifactorial etiology, including biological, environmental, and psychological causes. For this reason, obesity treatment requires a more integrated approach than the standard behavioral treatment based on dietary and physical activity only. To test the long-term efficacy of an enhanced cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) of obesity, including a virtual reality (VR) module aimed at both unlocking the negative memory of the body and to modify its behavioral and emotional correlates, 163 female morbidly obese inpatients (body mass index >40) were randomly assigned to three conditions: a standard behavioral inpatient program (SBP), SBP plus standard CBT, and SBP plus VR-enhanced CBT. Patients' weight, eating behavior, and body dissatisfaction were measured at the start and upon completion of the inpatient program. Weight was assessed also at 1 year follow-up. All measures improved significantly at discharge from the inpatient program, and no significant difference was found among the conditions. However, odds ratios showed that patients in the VR condition had a greater probability of maintaining or improving weight loss at 1 year follow-up than SBP patients had (48% vs. 11%, p = 0.004) and, to a lesser extent, than CBT patients had (48% vs. 29%, p = 0.08). Indeed, only the VR-enhanced CBT was effective in further improving weight loss at 1 year follow-up. On the contrary, participants who received only the inpatient program regained back, on average, most of the weight they had lost. Findings support the hypothesis that a VR module addressing the locked negative memory of the body may enhance the long-term efficacy of standard CBT.
KW - ALLOCENTRIC LOCK
KW - BODY-IMAGE DISSATISFACTION
KW - CLINICAL-PSYCHOLOGY
KW - DIETARY RESTRAINT
KW - EATING-DISORDERS
KW - ITALIAN VERSION
KW - LONG-TERM MAINTENANCE
KW - SELF-EFFICACY
KW - WEIGHT-LOSS MAINTENANCE
KW - ALLOCENTRIC LOCK
KW - BODY-IMAGE DISSATISFACTION
KW - CLINICAL-PSYCHOLOGY
KW - DIETARY RESTRAINT
KW - EATING-DISORDERS
KW - ITALIAN VERSION
KW - LONG-TERM MAINTENANCE
KW - SELF-EFFICACY
KW - WEIGHT-LOSS MAINTENANCE
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/74736
U2 - 10.1089/cyber.2015.0208
DO - 10.1089/cyber.2015.0208
M3 - Article
VL - 19
SP - 134
EP - 140
JO - Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
JF - Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
SN - 2152-2715
ER -