Long-term benefit shown by short-binge program

Long-term benefit shown by short-binge programA short-term self-guided six-step program may help provide long-term help for binge eaters, U. S. researchers have said.

63 percent of binge eaters assigned to the 12-week program as part of a controlled, randomized trial stopped binging vs. 28.3 percent of those who received usual care, researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, Wesleyan University and Rutgers University, said.

Six months later, 74 percent of program participants and 44 percent of those in usual care continued to abstain from binging. At one year, 64 percent vs. 44 percent were binge-free.

Study principal investigator Ruth Striegel-Moore, a professor of psychology at Wesleyan University, said in a statement, "Our studies show that recurrent binge eating can be successfully treated with a brief, easily administered program, and that's great news for patients and their providers."

Striegel-Moore and colleagues conducted the 2004-2005 study with 123 Kaiser Permanente health plan members in Oregon and southwest Washington who had had at least one binge eating episode a week in the last three months.

It was also noted by the study that ninety percent of the study participants were female and the average age was 37. Program participants read "Overcoming Binge Eating" by Dr. Christopher Fairburn and attended eight sessions with cognitive behavioral counselors. (With Inputs from Agencies)