Study: At-home therapy for binge eating shows positive results

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Researchers at King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) have explored a new home-administered treatment for binge eating disorder (BED). This treatment combines transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a brain stimulation technique, with attention bias modification training (ABMT) to address maladaptive food-related attention patterns.

BED is a serious mental health condition characterized by episodes of uncontrolled eating, often accompanied by anxiety, low mood, and a link to obesity. Although psychological therapies exist, they only result in full recovery for about half of those treated. This new approach aims to address the self-regulatory brain processes that sustain binge eating behavior.

TDCS involves applying gentle electrical stimulation to specific brain regions to improve self-control, while ABMT helps correct biases toward high-calorie foods. The TANDEM trial evaluated the feasibility of combining at-home tDCS with ABMT. Researchers recruited 82 participants with BED, who were divided into four groups receiving either real or sham tDCS with ABMT, ABMT alone, or no treatment.

Results showed that participants who received real tDCS with ABMT experienced the most significant improvements, including a reduction in binge episodes from 20 to 6 per month, weight loss of 3.5 to 4 kg, and improved mood. In contrast, those who received sham tDCS with ABMT lost less weight, and participants in the ABMT-only and no-treatment groups showed minimal or no changes in behavior, weight, or mood.

This study highlights the potential of tDCS combined with ABMT as a scalable, home-based treatment for BED, particularly for individuals who struggle to access traditional therapies. Further research is needed to confirm these findings in larger trials.