The Effects of Intuitive Eating on Body Appreciation and Dietary Restraint in College Females

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Eating Behavior, Body Image, Dietary Habits, Restricted Behavior

In brief

College-aged women are at risk for eating disorders and disordered eating, which present serious health concerns. Two potent risk factors for eating disorders, body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint, are common among female college students. Intuitive eating is a strategy in which instead of listening to the predominant 'diet culture' and focusing on things like calories and energy balance, individuals practice listening to their internal physiological signals to decide when and what to eat and when to stop. Based on current research, intuitive eating has been shown to foster body satisfaction and healthy eating attitudes among women. The proposed pilot study will evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of an intuitive eating program for University of Delaware college women. In addition, this study will test the hypothesis that the intuitive eating program will reduce cognitive factors of body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint in females compared to a waitlisted group. Additionally, the investigators expect this reduction in dietary restraint to be associated with less disordered eating behavior. Exploratory aims include measuring engagement in disordered eating behaviors and changes in weight over the study period. This preliminary data will be used to estimate effect sizes for larger future trials.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT03947008

Run by

Carly R Pacanowski

People needed

15

Starts

2019-02-28

Expected to finish

2019-05-09

Last updated by the study team

2019-11-21

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 26. Sex: female. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• The participant is between the age of 18-26;
• University of Delaware student;
• Willing and able to commit to the 5-week study at specified time;
• Has a history of body dissatisfaction as indicated by high survey scores on body satisfaction and high scores on dietary restraint; and
• Are not currently being treated for an eating disorder.

You may not qualify if…

• Females who are currently diagnosed with and/or seeking treatment for an eating disorder.

Where it is running

• University of Delaware — Newark, Delaware, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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