Treatment of Comorbid Obesity and Major Depressive Disorder: A Prospective Pilot Study for their Combined Treatment

Background. Obese individuals who suffer from major depressive disorder are routinely screened out of weight loss trials. Treatments targeting obesity and depression concurrently have not been tested. Purpose. To test the short-term efficacy of a treatment that combined behavioral weight management...

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Main Authors: Lucy F. Faulconbridge, Thomas A. Wadden, Robert I. Berkowitz, Melissa E. Pulcini, Thomas Treadwell
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2011-01-01
Series:Journal of Obesity
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/870385
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author Lucy F. Faulconbridge
Thomas A. Wadden
Robert I. Berkowitz
Melissa E. Pulcini
Thomas Treadwell
author_facet Lucy F. Faulconbridge
Thomas A. Wadden
Robert I. Berkowitz
Melissa E. Pulcini
Thomas Treadwell
author_sort Lucy F. Faulconbridge
collection DOAJ
description Background. Obese individuals who suffer from major depressive disorder are routinely screened out of weight loss trials. Treatments targeting obesity and depression concurrently have not been tested. Purpose. To test the short-term efficacy of a treatment that combined behavioral weight management and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for obese adults with depression. Methods. Twelve obese females diagnosed with major depressive disorder received weekly group behavioral weight management, combined with CBT for depression, for 16 weeks. Weight, symptoms of depression, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors were measured at baseline and week 16. Results. Participants lost 11.4% of initial weight and achieved significant improvements in symptoms of depression and CVD risk factors. Conclusions. Obese individuals suffering from major depressive disorder can lose weight and achieve improvements in symptoms of depression and CVD risk factors with 16 weeks of combined treatment. A larger randomized controlled trial is needed to establish the efficacy of this treatment.
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spelling doaj-art-8ee401cd42544b5ab1a65f92b9a7b2ad2025-08-20T02:09:21ZengWileyJournal of Obesity2090-07082090-07162011-01-01201110.1155/2011/870385870385Treatment of Comorbid Obesity and Major Depressive Disorder: A Prospective Pilot Study for their Combined TreatmentLucy F. Faulconbridge0Thomas A. Wadden1Robert I. Berkowitz2Melissa E. Pulcini3Thomas Treadwell4Center for Weight and Eating Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USACenter for Weight and Eating Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USACenter for Weight and Eating Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USACenter for Weight and Eating Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USACenter for Cognitive Therapy, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USABackground. Obese individuals who suffer from major depressive disorder are routinely screened out of weight loss trials. Treatments targeting obesity and depression concurrently have not been tested. Purpose. To test the short-term efficacy of a treatment that combined behavioral weight management and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for obese adults with depression. Methods. Twelve obese females diagnosed with major depressive disorder received weekly group behavioral weight management, combined with CBT for depression, for 16 weeks. Weight, symptoms of depression, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors were measured at baseline and week 16. Results. Participants lost 11.4% of initial weight and achieved significant improvements in symptoms of depression and CVD risk factors. Conclusions. Obese individuals suffering from major depressive disorder can lose weight and achieve improvements in symptoms of depression and CVD risk factors with 16 weeks of combined treatment. A larger randomized controlled trial is needed to establish the efficacy of this treatment.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/870385
spellingShingle Lucy F. Faulconbridge
Thomas A. Wadden
Robert I. Berkowitz
Melissa E. Pulcini
Thomas Treadwell
Treatment of Comorbid Obesity and Major Depressive Disorder: A Prospective Pilot Study for their Combined Treatment
Journal of Obesity
title Treatment of Comorbid Obesity and Major Depressive Disorder: A Prospective Pilot Study for their Combined Treatment
title_full Treatment of Comorbid Obesity and Major Depressive Disorder: A Prospective Pilot Study for their Combined Treatment
title_fullStr Treatment of Comorbid Obesity and Major Depressive Disorder: A Prospective Pilot Study for their Combined Treatment
title_full_unstemmed Treatment of Comorbid Obesity and Major Depressive Disorder: A Prospective Pilot Study for their Combined Treatment
title_short Treatment of Comorbid Obesity and Major Depressive Disorder: A Prospective Pilot Study for their Combined Treatment
title_sort treatment of comorbid obesity and major depressive disorder a prospective pilot study for their combined treatment
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/870385
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