Evaluation of Compulsive Exercise Group Therapy for Eating Disorders
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A Randomised Control Trial Evaluating a Compulsive Exercise Group for Adolescent Inpatients With Eating Disorders
IRAS ID
281456
Contact name
Hubert Lacey
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Newbridge House
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 28 days
Research summary
Research Question:
Does delivery of a compulsive exercise group intervention reduce motivation for compulsive exercise in adolescent inpatients with eating disorders?Secondary Research Question:
Does eating disorder pathology improve more during admission for those who complete the compulsive exercise group compared to those who do not complete the group?Background:
Compulsive exercise has been identified as a symptom of the eating disorders, particularly anorexia nervosa (AN). Many consider the behaviour to be part of the development and maintenance of the disorder. Compulsive exercise has been defined as highly rigid, resulting in negative effects on psychological and physical health. Furthermore, compulsive exercise appears to be a factor that increases the risk of relapse in AN.This suggests treatment of compulsive exercise is clinically and financially important. A study has shown that a novel compulsive exercise group improved exercise urges in adults with eating disorders; however research including adolescents is limited. This research will contribute to the evidence base for compulsive exercise interventions in adolescents and inform the effectiveness of a new treatment. The research will be funded by Newbridge House, an inpatient unit for children and adolescents with eating disorders.
Design:
To gather evidence for the research questions, a between subjects design (treatment vs no treatment) will be used with treatment as the independent variable. The case group will receive treatment as usual as well as the treatment group and the control group will just receive treatment as usual. The outcomes from self-report questionnaires completed pre and post-group will be compared between the case and control groups.The dependent variables are compulsive exercise and eating disorder psychopathology as measured by self-report questionnaires. This experimental design has been chosen as it allows for the comparison of treatment vs no treatment group.
Measures:
1. Compulsive Exercise Test (CET)
2. Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q)REC name
West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/WM/0159
Date of REC Opinion
10 Aug 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion