We explored U.S. provider and leader perspectives on eating disorder screening, implementation, and clinical pathways in the Veterans Health Administration using qualitative interviews with 10 medical providers and seven leaders from Veterans Health Administration's National Program Offices ( = 17).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To determine the effectiveness of adding a brief psychological eating-disorder treatment (CBT) to weight management for addressing DSM-5 binge-eating disorder (BED) in US military Veterans with high weight.
Method: One hundred and nine Veterans, with DSM-5 BED, seeking weight management services were randomly assigned to VA's Weight Management Program (MOVE!), or MOVE! plus a brief, clinician-led cognitive-behavioral therapy (MOVE! + CBT). Primary (eating disorder psychopathology and binge eating), secondary (mental health, quality of life, and eating- and appearance-related), and exploratory (weight) outcomes were analyzed with mixed-effects models for four timepoints (baseline, 3-month [post-treatment], and 9- and 15-month follow-ups).
The present study aims to investigate the factor structure and measurement invariance by gender of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q)-a commonly used measure evaluating eating disorder symptom severity- in veterans. The present study used data from a 2022 survey study conducted with a nationally representative sample of 405 veterans. Competing factor structures based on prior literature were compared using confirmatory factor analyses (CFA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To develop a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) eating disorder screener.
Method: Veterans enrolled in VA healthcare (N = 344) completed a survey of screening items and established measures. A validation subset (n = 166) participated in diagnostic interviews to confirm an eating disorder diagnosis.
J Womens Health (Larchmt)
March 2025
Failure to "make weight" carries significant consequences for military personnel including additional training burdens, stigma, possible demotion, or even separation from service. The aim of this study was to examine potential gender differences in, and investigate relationships between, military making weight behavior and obesity, eating pathology, and mental health later in life. Iraq and Afghanistan war era Veterans ( = 1,126, 51.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: We aimed to explore US veteran perspectives on eating disorder screening, diagnosis, patient-provider conversations, and care in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).
Method: Rapid qualitative analysis of 30-45 min phone interviews with 16 (N = 16) veterans with an electronic health record ICD-10 eating disorder diagnosis, who received care at one of two VHA healthcare systems in Connecticut or California. Topics covered included: conversations with providers about eating disorder symptoms, diagnosis, and referral to treatment; feedback about an eating disorder screener, and; reflections on eating disorders among veterans and VHA's effort to address them.
Recent research suggests high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and eating disorder (ED) comorbidity in women veterans. This study aims to expand the literature by examining associations between PTSD and ED diagnoses and symptoms in this population. We assessed probable PTSD diagnosis and symptom clusters (intrusion, avoidance, arousal and reactivity, and negative alterations in cognition and mood [NACM]), as well as probable Binge Eating Disorder (BED) diagnosis and ED subscales (dietary restraint, shape/weight overvaluation, and body dissatisfaction) in a sample of women veterans (N = 371).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Eat Disord
April 2024
Objective: Veterans are at high risk for eating disorders (EDs), and specifically for atypical anorexia nervosa (atypical AN). The current study aimed to better understand this under-studied disorder and how it differs from weight loss without ED cognitive features.
Method: Secondary analyses were conducted with data from a national study of Veterans (N = 882, 49.
Background & Aims: Brief screening questionnaires can identify 'at risk' behaviors in clinical settings. However, there is currently no screener for dietary intake specifically developed using foods associated with body weight change and increased risk for multiple chronic conditions and diseases.
Methods: We developed a novel brief dietary screener, the 24-Hour Food Frequency Assessment Screening Tool Questionnaire (FAST24), to identify intake of foods associated with weight change.
Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse
September 2023
Medication treatment for opioid use disorder (MOUD) is an instrumental tool in combatting opioid use and overdose. Excess weight gain associated with MOUD initiation is a potential barrier that is not well understood. Conduct a scoping review of available studies investigating the effect of MOUD on weight.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Pain predominant multisymptom illness (pain-CMI) refers to symptom-based conditions where pain is a primary symptom. There is initial evidence that health coaching may be efficacious in treating pain-CMI because it can be tailored to the veteran's goals and emphasizes long-term behavior change, which may indirectly impact the maintaining factors of pain-CMI (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is in need of population health approaches to address overweight and obesity-related diseases. BMI serves as a simple, blunt metric to monitor these efforts. However, emerging research has demonstrated that healthcare weigh-ins contribute to weight stigma which paraodoxically is associated with weight gain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Understanding the interrelationships between co-occurring chronic health conditions and health behaviors is critical to developing interventions to successfully change multiple health behaviors and related comorbidities. The objective of the present study was to examine the effects of depression, insomnia, and their co-occurrence on risk of obesity and to examine the role of health risk behaviors as potential confounders of these relationships with an emphasis on eating pathologies.
Methods: Iraq and Afghanistan conflict era veterans (n = 1,094, 51.
Obesity and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are two of the most prevalent and costly clinical conditions among U.S. military veterans, and these conditions often co-occur.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Pressure to meet U.S. military weight requirements during service may predispose some service members to develop psychiatric disorders such as eating disorders or unhealthy eating behaviors, which may persist after military discharge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: DSM-5 Atypical Anorexia Nervosa (AAN), a new eating disorder diagnosis, presents similarly to Anorexia Nervosa (AN) in the absence of severe underweight. The prevalence of AAN and other DSM-5 eating disorders was estimated in a sample of Veterans. Sociodemographic, mental health, and eating behavior correlates were examined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Little is known about prevalence estimates of new and revised DSM-5 eating disorders diagnoses in general, and especially among high-risk, underserved and diverse eating disorder populations. The aim of the current study was to determine prevalence, gender differences and correlates of DSM-5 eating disorders in veterans.
Method: Iraq and Afghanistan war era veterans (N = 1,121, 51.
Introduction: A neglected area of trauma research with Veterans is the study of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). The present study aimed to examine the prevalence of ACEs, and to explore relationships between ACEs and measures of weight, eating behaviors and quality of life in weight loss seeking Veterans.
Methods: Participants were 191 Veterans [mean age 58.
Providers frequently report pain as a barrier to weight loss yet the relationship between the pain experience and eating behavior is poorly understood. The current study examines overeating in response to physical pain (Pain Overeating). Weight-loss seeking Veterans (N = 126) completed the Yale Emotional Overeating Questionnaire, a measure used to assess the frequency of overeating in response to a range of emotions that was adapted to include a Pain Overeating item, and validated measures of pain, eating pathology, and mental health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis randomized controlled trial (RCT) tested effectiveness of adaptive SMART stepped-care treatment to "standard" behavioral weight loss (BWL [standard]) for patients with binge-eating disorder (BED) and obesity. One hundred ninety-one patients were randomly assigned to 6 months of BWL (standard; n = 39) or stepped care (n = 152). Within stepped care, patients started with BWL for 1 month; treatment responders continued BWL, whereas nonresponders switched to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and patients receiving stepped care were additionally randomized to weight-loss medication or placebo (double-blind) for the remaining 5 months.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEat Weight Disord
December 2020
Purpose: This study aimed at testing the validity and reliability of the Emotional Overeating Questionnaire (EOQ) in a sample of Italian adults with obesity, overweight or normal weight.
Materials And Methods: Participants were 314 Italian adults (72.6% females, aged 18-76 years) with obesity (27.
Background: Eating disorders affect upwards of 30 million people worldwide and often go undertreated and underdiagnosed. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the Sick, Control, One, Fat and Food (SCOFF) questionnaire for DSM-5 eating disorders in the general population.
Method: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) were followed.
Purpose: "Making weight" behaviors are unhealthy weight control strategies intended to reduce weight in an effort to meet weight requirements. This study aimed to examine a brief measure of making weight and to investigate the relationship between making weight and weight, binge eating, and eating pathology later in life.
Methods: Participants were veterans [N = 120, mean age 61.