Can relaxation training reduce emotional eating in women with obesity?
Stress and negative emotions have been shown to be critical factors in inducing overeating as a form of maladaptive coping in some patients with obesity. We evaluated the efficacy of a 3-week relaxation protocol enhanced by virtual reality and portable mp3 players in reducing emotional eating in a sample of 60 female inpatients with obesity who report emotional eating, using a three-arm exploratory randomized controlled trial with 3 months of follow-up. The intervention included 12 individual relaxation training sessions provided traditionally (imagination condition) or supported by virtual reality (virtual reality condition). Control participants received only standard hospital-based care. Weight, behavior and psychological data were collected and analyzed. Relaxation training was effective in reducing emotional eating episodes, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and in improving perceived self-efficacy for eating control at 3-month follow-up after discharge. The virtual reality conditi
