Manzoni Gian Mauro, Cesa Gian Luca, Bacchetta Monica, Castelnuovo Gianluca, Conti Sara, Gaggioli Andrea, Mantovani Fabrizia, Molinari Enrico, Cárdenas-López Georgina, Riva Giuseppe
1 Psychology Research Laboratory, Ospedale San Giuseppe, Istituto Auxologico Italiano , Verbania, Italy .
2 Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart , Milan, Italy .
Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2016 Feb;19(2):134-40. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2015.0208. Epub 2015 Oct 2.
It is well known that obesity has a multifactorial etiology, including biological, environmental, and psychological causes. For this reason, obesity treatment requires a more integrated approach than the standard behavioral treatment based on dietary and physical activity only. To test the long-term efficacy of an enhanced cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) of obesity, including a virtual reality (VR) module aimed at both unlocking the negative memory of the body and to modify its behavioral and emotional correlates, 163 female morbidly obese inpatients (body mass index >40) were randomly assigned to three conditions: a standard behavioral inpatient program (SBP), SBP plus standard CBT, and SBP plus VR-enhanced CBT. Patients' weight, eating behavior, and body dissatisfaction were measured at the start and upon completion of the inpatient program. Weight was assessed also at 1 year follow-up. All measures improved significantly at discharge from the inpatient program, and no significant difference was found among the conditions. However, odds ratios showed that patients in the VR condition had a greater probability of maintaining or improving weight loss at 1 year follow-up than SBP patients had (48% vs. 11%, p = 0.004) and, to a lesser extent, than CBT patients had (48% vs. 29%, p = 0.08). Indeed, only the VR-enhanced CBT was effective in further improving weight loss at 1 year follow-up. On the contrary, participants who received only the inpatient program regained back, on average, most of the weight they had lost. Findings support the hypothesis that a VR module addressing the locked negative memory of the body may enhance the long-term efficacy of standard CBT.
众所周知，肥胖具有多因素病因，包括生物学、环境和心理原因。因此，肥胖治疗需要一种比仅基于饮食和体育活动的标准行为治疗更综合的方法。为了测试强化认知行为疗法（CBT）治疗肥胖的长期疗效，该疗法包括一个虚拟现实（VR）模块，旨在解开身体的负面记忆并改变其行为和情绪关联，163名女性病态肥胖住院患者（体重指数>40）被随机分配到三种情况：标准行为住院项目（SBP）、SBP加标准CBT以及SBP加VR强化CBT。在住院项目开始时和结束时测量患者的体重、饮食行为和身体不满程度。在1年随访时也评估体重。所有指标在住院项目出院时均有显著改善，且各情况之间未发现显著差异。然而，优势比表明，VR组患者在1年随访时维持或改善体重减轻的概率高于SBP组患者（48%对11%，p = 0.004），且在较小程度上高于CBT组患者（48%对29%，p = 0.08）。事实上，只有VR强化CBT在1年随访时能有效进一步改善体重减轻。相反，仅接受住院项目的参与者平均恢复了他们减掉的大部分体重。研究结果支持这样的假设，即一个解决身体锁定负面记忆的VR模块可能会提高标准CBT的长期疗效。
