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Reward retraining: A pilot randomized controlled trial of a novel treatment approach for transdiagnostic binge eating
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Reward retraining: A pilot randomized controlled trial of a novel treatment approach for transdiagnostic binge eating

Adrienne S Juarascio, Paakhi Srivastava, Stephanie M Manasse, Megan L Wilkinson, Christina R Felonis and Sarah A Drexler
The International journal of eating disorders
27 Jan 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23905
PMID: 36706171
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

Abstract

clinical trial; reward imbalance; eating disorders; loss-of-control eating; binge eating
Low reward response to conventionally rewarding stimuli and high reward response to food (i.e., reward imbalance), has been supported as a maintenance factor for eating disorders characterized by binge eating. The current study was a pilot randomized controlled trial testing a novel treatment approach for binge eating targeting reward imbalance, called Reward Re-Training (RRT), in comparison to a therapeutic attention control condition (supportive psychotherapy; ST). Fifty-nine participants were randomly assigned to receive either 10 group sessions of RRT or ST via videoconferencing software. Assessments of eating pathology and hypothesized treatment targets were completed at pretreatment, mid-treatment, and posttreatment, and 3-month following the end of treatment. Feasibility and acceptability success benchmarks were achieved. Results found a significant indirect effect of RRT on lower posttreatment global eating pathology through decreases in reward to food from pretreatment to mid-treatment. No significant differences were observed between groups in terms of change in hypothesized treatment mechanisms or outcomes at posttreatment or 3-month follow-up. The current study supports the feasibility and acceptability of RRT, and the preliminary efficacy of both RRT and ST. Further research comparing these approaches to CBT would help to inform who might benefit from non-CBT based treatment approaches. The current pilot study supports the feasibility and acceptability of Reward Re-Training (RRT) as a treatment for binge eating (BE). RRT produced large, but similar, reductions in overall eating pathology and BE frequency compared to supportive psychotherapy (ST) by 3-month follow-up. This study supports further testing of indirect treatments such as RRT for binge eating.

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14 Record Views
13 citations in Web of Science
11 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#5 Gender Equality
#3 Good Health and Well-Being

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Web of Science research areas
Nutrition & Dietetics
Psychiatry
Psychology
Psychology, Clinical
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