The Effect of Psychotherapy in the Management of Obesity: An umbrella review

Objective To assess the impact of psychotherapy on obesity treatment in outpatient settings.

The study targets adults with a BMI of 30 or higher, comparing psychotherapeutic interventions to usual care or no treatment. Key outcomes include weight loss, adverse events, depression, quality of life, and long-term BMI changes. Extensive database searches were conducted.

Out of 1,334 articles reviewed, only 3 studies met the inclusion criteria, emphasizing the scarcity of relevant research. These studies primarily focused on behavioral and cognitive-behavioral strategies. Results showed that combining behavior therapy with diet/exercise led to greater weight loss than diet/exercise alone. Studies on cognitive therapy and general psychotherapy were less frequent and yielded weaker evidence. Despite varied methodologies, the findings suggest that behavioral therapy combined with dietary and exercise interventions offers improved outcomes, though more research is needed to strengthen these conclusions.

The study found that combining behavioral therapy with diet and exercise resulted in greater weight loss than diet and exercise alone. However, research on the impact of psychotherapy on obesity is limited, as only 3 studies met the inclusion criteria. Cognitive therapies and general psychotherapy provided weaker evidence. Therefore, further research is necessary to validate these findings and investigate alternative psychotherapeutic methods for treating obesity. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funding Statement This study did not receive any funding Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: Secondary analysis from already published studies I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes Footnotes Disclosure: The authors have no conflicts of interest to report, and there Data availability: All data referred in this manuscript is available. Funding: This study has no funding sources Data Availability All data produced in the present work are contained in the manuscript