NCT04666831: AMI+CBTforFA

Adapted Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Food Addiction

Completed NA Last updated 22 November 2023

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Adapted Motivational Interviewing (AMI) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) in Food Addiction in 94 participants. Completed in 21 January 2023.

Timeline

7 March 2021

Primary endpoint
21 January 2023

21 January 2023

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Toronto Metropolitan University
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	none
Primary purpose	treatment
Enrollment	94
Start date	7 March 2021
Primary completion	21 January 2023
Estimated completion	21 January 2023
Sites	1 location across Canada

Drugs / interventions tested

• Adapted Motivational Interviewing (AMI) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Conditions studied

• Food Addiction — all drugs for Food Addiction →
• Binge Eating — all drugs for Binge Eating →

Sponsor

Toronto Metropolitan University

Who can join

18 and older, any sex, with Food Addiction or Binge Eating. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Food addiction is the concept that individuals can be "addicted" to foods, particularly highly processed foods. This concept has attracted growing research interest given rising obesity rates and the engineering of food products. Although food addiction is not a recognized mental disorder, individuals do identify as being addicted to foods and self-help organizations have existed since 1960 to purportedly treat it (i.e., through abstinence). However, little research has been conducted on how abstinence approaches work. Such methods may even be harmful given the risk of disordered eating. Currently, there are no empirically supported treatments for food addiction. However, evidence-based treatments do exist for addictions and eating disorders, such as motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioural therapy, which may prove beneficial for food addiction, given neural similarities between addictions and binge eating.

The current study proposes a randomized controlled trial using a four-session adapted motivational interviewing (AMI) and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) intervention for food addiction. This intervention combines the personalized assessment feedback and person-centred counseling of AMI with CBT skills for eating disorders, such as self-monitoring of food intake. The aim is to motivate participants to enact behavioural change, such as reduced and moderate consumption of processed foods. Outcome measures will assess food addiction and binge eating symptoms, self-reported consumption of processed foods, readiness for change, eating self-efficacy, and other constructs such as emotional eating. The intervention condition will be compared to a waitlist control group. Both groups will be assessed at pre- and postintervention periods, as well as over a 3-month follow-up period to assess maintenance effects. Based on a power analysis and previous effect sizes following AMI interventions for binge eating, a total sample size of n = 58 is needed. A total of 131 individuals will be recruited to account for previous exclusion and withdrawal rates. Participation is estimated to take place from March 2021 to March 2022. All intervention sessions will be conducted virtually over secure videoconferencing technology or telephone, expanding access to all adult community members across Ontario, Canada. Twenty randomly selected session tapes will be reviewed for MI adherence.

Publications & conference data

1 peer-reviewed publication reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. The MotivATE randomized controlled trial: treating food addiction with adapted motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioural therapy versus a waitlist control condition.
   Santiago VA, Cassin SE. · · 2026 · PMID 41582183 · DOI 10.1186/s40337-025-01522-5