Post-meal anxiety and cognitive processes in eating disorders V1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Effects on post-meal anxiety and cognitive processes amongst inpatients with eating disorders
IRAS ID
120506
Contact name
Lucy Serpell
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Research summary
Following meals within eating disorder units, patients often feel anxious. They are frequently supervised to manage the risk of compensatory behaviours (e.g. self-induced vomiting) which can also increase anxiety. Evidence suggests that engaging in activities during this time can be helpful in reducing anxiety, however the evidence lacks theory which may help to determine what types of activities might be more beneficial. One theory suggests that feeling fat results from misinterpretation of bodily sensations (e.g. bloating) causing the individual to develop images (e.g. overly expanded stomach) leading to anxiety. Therefore, to reduce anxiety during the post-meal period we can attempt to interrupt the processing of feeling fat to reduce the intrusive images. Researchers have found that visuospatial activities following a traumatic film decreased the number of later flashbacks (intrusive images) by interfering with the processing of visuospatial memories of the film. In other words, the visuospatial activity competes for resources needed to develop trauma flashbacks. However, a verbal activity following the traumatic film increased the number of flashbacks as the activity prevented participants from verbally processing the trauma video, which according to theory increases intrusions. Somatic activities (relating to the body) may also compete for resources needed to process bodily sensations often experienced following meals, such as the sensation of the stomach stretching. In this activity we might suspect that anxiety is lessened.
The aim of this study is to use ideas from the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) literature to determine the effect of visuospatial, verbal and somatic activity on reducing intrusive imagery and anxiety following meals.REC name
London - Harrow Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/LO/0800
Date of REC Opinion
28 Jun 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion