Trial Review

Did you know?

The ANZCTR now automatically displays published trial results and simplifies the addition of trial documents such as unpublished protocols and statistical analysis plans.

These enhancements will offer a more comprehensive view of trials, regardless of whether their results are positive, negative, or inconclusive.

The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been endorsed by the ANZCTR. Before participating in a study, talk to your health care provider and refer to this information for consumers
Trial details imported from ClinicalTrials.gov

For full trial details, please see the original record at https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT00668993




Registration number
NCT00668993
Ethics application status
Date submitted
27/04/2008
Date registered
29/04/2008
Date last updated
22/09/2009

Titles & IDs
Public title
Randomized Clinical Trial Investigating Efficacy of EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) for Food Cravings
Scientific title
The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Versus a Waitlist for Food Cravings: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Secondary ID [1] 0 0
SMI-GU-42708
Universal Trial Number (UTN)
Trial acronym
Linked study record

Health condition
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied:
Food Cravings 0 0
Condition category
Condition code

Intervention/exposure
Study type
Interventional
Description of intervention(s) / exposure
BEHAVIORAL - EFT - the Emotional Freedom technique

Experimental: A, B - A is treatment group B is waitlist group


BEHAVIORAL: EFT - the Emotional Freedom technique
EFT combines cognitive strategies with somatic procedures adapted from acupuncture and related systems for altering the cognitive, behavioural, and neurochemical foundations of psychological problems. It is often referred to as "psychological acupuncture". Few adequately controlled studies have been conducted on EFT however acupuncture has been quite extensively studied, with hundreds of research reports published
Intervention code [1] 0 0
BEHAVIORAL
Comparator / control treatment
Control group

Outcomes
Primary outcome [1] 0 0
Decrease or elimination of food craving
Timepoint [1] 0 0
6 and 12 months follow up
Secondary outcome [1] 0 0
changes in weight
Timepoint [1] 0 0
6 and 12 month follow up

Eligibility
Key inclusion criteria
* Criteria will consist of participants being:

l) over 18 years old and under 60 years and not suffering any severe psychological impairment

2) not currently receiving treatment (psychological or medical) for their food cravings

3) agree to be contacted for follow-up testing.
* Women and men will be included
Minimum age
18 Years
Maximum age
60 Years
Sex
Both males and females
Can healthy volunteers participate?
Yes
Key exclusion criteria
* Active diagnoses from the SCID II and subjects taking 'heavy' psychotropic which can suppress feelings, cravings and sensitivity will be excluded.
* Known sufferers of diabetes (Type I and II) and hypoglycemia will be excluded due to any physiological aetiology (effects related) to food cravings.
* Pregnant women will be excluded

Study design
Purpose of the study
Treatment
Allocation to intervention
Randomised controlled trial
Procedure for enrolling a subject and allocating the treatment (allocation concealment procedures)
Methods used to generate the sequence in which subjects will be randomised (sequence generation)
Masking / blinding
Blinded (masking used)
Who is / are masked / blinded?

The people administering the treatment/s

Intervention assignment
Single group
Other design features
Phase
Not applicable
Type of endpoint/s
Statistical methods / analysis

Recruitment
Recruitment status
Completed
Data analysis
Reason for early stopping/withdrawal
Other reasons
Date of first participant enrolment
Anticipated
Actual
1/04/2008
Date of last participant enrolment
Anticipated
Actual
Date of last data collection
Anticipated
Actual
1/02/2009
Sample size
Target
60
Accrual to date
Final
Recruitment in Australia
Recruitment state(s)
QLD
Recruitment hospital [1] 0 0
School of Medicine - Meadowbrook
Recruitment postcode(s) [1] 0 0
4131 - Meadowbrook

Funding & Sponsors
Primary sponsor type
Other
Name
Soul Medicine Institute
Address
Country
Other collaborator category [1] 0 0
Other
Name [1] 0 0
Griffith University
Address [1] 0 0
Country [1] 0 0

Ethics approval
Ethics application status

Summary
Brief summary
This pilot study will examine one issue only in weight loss - food cravings in overweight (i.e. BMI between 25-29.9) or obese (BMI greater than 30) consumers. Food craving is hypothesized to be an important intervening causal variable and the development of obesity.

This randomized clinical trial will explore whether a relatively under researched energy based therapeutic procedure, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), can reduce food cravings in participants under laboratory-controlled conditions, and compare this to a waitlist group. The following foods will be tested: chocolate, salty foods (e.g. chips, crisps, salted nuts), sweet carbohydrate foods (eg. cakes, biscuits, soft/soda drinks), carbohydrate foods which are neither sweet nor salty such as white refined foods such as bread), and caffeinated items.

Research examining energy based procedures (e.g. EFT) combines cognitive strategies with somatic procedures adapted from acupuncture and related systems for altering the cognitive, behavioural, and neurochemical foundations of psychological problems. It is often referred to as "psychological acupuncture". Few adequately controlled studies have been conducted on EFT however acupuncture has been quite extensively studied, with hundreds of research reports published (see attached references).

Screening will occur over the telephone with one of the chosen self report questionnaires - the Food Craving Inventory (FCI; White et al., 2002). The FCI is a reliable and valid measure for the assessment of cravings for specific types of foods: High Fats, Sweets, Carbohydrates/Starches, and Fast Food Fats, all of which comprise the higher order construct of "food craving" or the FCI Total score (White et al., 2002). Higher numbers for each of the subscales reflect greater cravings for that food type with the highest score being 185. Scores of 93 or higher during the screen will be used to admit subjects to the next diagnostic interview phase of the trial. In addition, subjects will be asked their weight and height in order to ascertain their BMI and this will be confirmed in the diagnostic interview with a standardized weight machine.

The Structured Clinical Interview (SCID-II; Spitzer, Williams, Gibbon, \& First, 1990) has 12 groups of questions corresponding to12 personality disorders and will be used as a diagnostic tool in a face-to-face interview with subjects who are suitable from the telephone screen. The aim is to exclude any active diagnoses from the DSM-IV in order to obtain the purest non clinic sample possible. All subjects will be notified by letter of the outcome of their diagnostic interview and those unsuitable for the trial will be told they did not meet selection criteria. Suitable practitioners who would be able to provide individual support for the food cravings will be provided in written format. Subjects who meet a diagnostic category will be informed of this and appropriate referral will be offered.

Participants will be randomly assigned (using the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre service) to a free group EFT treatment condition or a non treatment waitlist control condition of the same duration (4 weeks). This design ensures that potential treatment gains are neither due to the mere passage of time nor regression to the mean. To limit attrition from waitlist conditions, several contacts will be made with the waiting clients. Prescheduled phone contacts, for example, may maintain adherence to the waitlist condition.

Prior to treatment all subjects will be weighed and height measured for their BMI status and food craving outcome measures (pre, post and follow-up) will be measured using:

1. SUDS rating (subjective) in daily food diaries (food diaries were chosen as a method that best measures real-life eating behaviour)
2. Power of Food Scale (Didie, 2003)
3. Food Craving Inventory (White et al., 2002)

Three aspects of eating behaviour will be measured using the Revised Restraint Scale (Herman \& Polivy, 1980). The items are summed for a total score that ranges from 0 to 40. High scores indicate chronic dieting in which the individual is constantly cycling on and off the diet, typically without any substantial weight loss. Dietary restraint appears to play a causal role in the development of eating disorders and obesity and loss of control over intake. Food cravings may trigger these eating behaviours.

The Symptom Assessment 45 (SA-45, Strategic Advantage, 1998) will be used to assess symptomatology across nine psychiatric domains and as measures of the outcome of the psychological intervention.

Demographic information will be collected in questionnaire format at the beginning of the study.

The EFT intervention will consist of 4 sessions (2 hours duration) with homework and will be based on standard delivery of EFT, as per founder Gary Craig's training for level 1 EFT certification ( see http://www.emofree.com/WorkShop/workshop-guidelines.htm#Level%201).
Trial website
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT00668993
Trial related presentations / publications
Public notes

Contacts
Principal investigator
Name 0 0
Peta Stapleton, PhD
Address 0 0
Griffith University
Country 0 0
Phone 0 0
Fax 0 0
Email 0 0
Contact person for public queries
Name 0 0
Address 0 0
Country 0 0
Phone 0 0
Fax 0 0
Email 0 0
Contact person for scientific queries



Summary Results

For IPD and results data, please see https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT00668993