The internet-based My Body, My Life: Body Image Program for adolescent girls improves body image and disordered eating

QUESTION Question: Can an internet-based group intervention improve body image and eating problems in adolescent girls? Patients: 73 adolescent girls aged 12–18 years (mean age 14.4 years) who self-identified as having body image or eating problems and who had access to the internet. Main exclusions: body mass index (BMI) ,5th percentile for age and gender, diagnosis of anorexia nervosa, or receiving treatment for an eating or other psychiatric disorder. Setting: High schools in Victoria and New South Wales in Australia; time period not stated. Intervention: Immediate My Body, My Life: Body Image Program for Adolescent Girls (http://www.latrobe.edu.au/psy/projects/ bodylife/index.html) or delayed start of the same programme (waiting list control). The programme consisted of a guided selfhelp manual supported through six internet-based group sessions (delivered weekly). The weekly group sessions included 4–8 participants, lasted 90 min and were facilitated by a trained therapist. Girls completed self-help activities in preparation for group internet sessions, during which they discussed their concerns and learned strategies to improve their eating behaviours and enhance their body image. Sessions were delivered through a secure online chat room and message boards. Outcomes: Change in body dissatisfaction (Body Shape Questionnaire-Short form, and the Body Comparison Scale), eating behaviours (Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) Restraint subscale, Extreme Weight Loss Behaviours (EWLB) scale, and Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI) Bulimia subscale), BMI, effect and perception of media influences (Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Scale-3), and depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory). Patient follow-up: 75% completed follow-up; 88% included in last observation carried forward analyses.