Simultaneous nutritional cognitive-behavioural therapy in obese patients

The most important problem in cognitive-behavioural therapies for obese pat ients is to initiate weight loss without reinforcing the eating-behavioural disorders. We propose to assess the cognitive-behavioural therapy in obese patients suffering from eating disorders with and without combining a nutr itional approach based on fat information. The patients (n = 60) have follo wed a group treatment of 12 weekly cognitive-behavioural therapy sessions w ith or without a combined nutritional approach mainly focused on fat restri ction. The scores for depression (P < 0.01), anxiety (P < 0.01) and eating disorders (P <0.001) an significantly and similarly improved with both type s of treatments. The mean weight loss is significant (P < 0.001) only after a combined nutritional cognitive-behavioural approach. The Eating Disorder s Inventory (EDI) subgroup 'Drive for thinness' remains only in a combined therapy (ANOVA P (0.01), which could explain the weight loss that only occu rs in this group. Finally, the association between a cognitive-behavioural therapy and a nutritional learning process improves the anxiety and depress ion related to eating disorders as well as the weight loss. (C) 2001 Elsevi er Science Inland Ltd. All rights reserved.