eHealth Treatments for Compulsive Overeating: a Narrative Review

Electronic or eHealth technologies have resulted in a progressive transformation of healthcare delivery, leading to greater treatment access, and more informed and individualized clinician-patient relationships. These characteristics are especially important for individuals who suffer from compulsive overeating and related disorders such as binge-eating disorder and bulimia nervosa—where personal feelings of shame and fear, high costs and low treatment availability may deter individuals from obtaining appropriate care. In the following narrative review, the efficacy of eHealth interventions for the treatment of compulsive overeating is explored. The key benefits of the treatments—which mainly consist of internet cognitive behavioural therapy—are their convenience and ease of access; their ability for the individual to retain anonymity; and the provision of continuous support. Despite these advantages, high dropouts and low completion rates continue to pose a problem in eHealth therapies. Therefore, such treatments need to enhance engagement by including a diverse range of multimedia formats and to improve therapist interaction on these platforms. This is especially important considering that patients who exhibit compulsive overeating behaviours tend to have an elevated sensitivity to reward and pleasurable stimuli and a greater need for positive human support. The findings suggest that the more interactive, engaging and person-centered the treatment is, the more appealing it will be to those suffering from compulsive overeating. Therefore, in order to enhance adherence and therapeutic success, it will behoove future studies to assess the features of eHealth treatments to determine what could be modified in order to enhance their efficacy and appeal to patients.