Building Healthy Eating and Self-Esteem Together for University Students (BEST-U): A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of an mHealth Intervention for Binge-Spectrum Disorders

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Eating disorders (EDs) are a critical concern on college campuses. Moreover, since the COVID-19 pandemic, ED prevalence has increased by 62% in university women and 140% in university men. Resources are inadequate to meet demand, leading to delays in students’ access to treatment. Untreated (or poorly treated) EDs result in greater healthcare utilization and costs to students, as well as lower academic achievement and increased psychiatric disability and mortality, suggesting a critical need for quality ED treatment on university campuses and to rethink treatment delivery. One way to address this gap in care delivery is to improve treatment accessibility and scalability, such as dissemination via mobile apps. Guided self-help Cognitive- Behavior Therapy (CBT-gsh) is a cost-effective option that can be delivered by non-traditional service providers, such as nurses and physicians. Our scientific premise is that the mHealth CBT-gsh app, Building Healthy Eating and Self-Esteem Together for University Students (BEST-U), will lead to reductions in binge eating (primary outcome) through reductions in dietary restraint and weight/shape concerns (target mechanisms). Our pilot data showed strong support for our premise, specifically the need for brief, targeted mHealth interventions in students and the ability of the program to significantly reduce binge eating and impairment and increase wellbeing, with high user acceptability and low drop-out rates. However, prior to implementing BEST-U at other universities, we need to test the intervention in a real-world setting with the end goal of disseminating at scale. Our objectives are to: 1) conduct an effectiveness test of BEST-U compared to a similar dose of present-centered therapy (PCT) in students with non-low weight binge-spectrum EDs and 2) test target mechanisms that lead to changes in binge eating. To accomplish our objectives, we will test the following specific aims: 1) conduct an RCT of BEST-U (N=47) compared to a similar dose of PCT (N=47) in students with non-low weight binge-spectrum EDs; 2) test target mechanisms that lead to changes in binge eating and other ED symptoms; and 3) characterize barriers and facilitators to implementation across two campuses. Our exploratory aim will test food reinforcement and food-choice impulsivity as potential target mechanisms or response moderators of rapid response in binge eating. Given the rapidly rising rates of EDs and the lack of existing treatment resources, the proposed study is innovative and significant because it will provide a scalable treatment to fill gaps in care to promote student wellness and educational attainment. Our pilot data showed initial efficacy for BEST-U, yet the proposed study is necessary to validate the treatment in a student health setting prior to large-scale dissemination. Furthermore, given that few studies have identified underlying mechanisms that explain how CBT-gsh works and for whom, this study may lead to improved ability to tailor or modify existing CBT-gsh (e.g., personalized medicine approaches) or lead to novel intervention development for students who are unlikely to respond rapidly (or at all) to first-line CBT interventions for EDs.