Can Group Therapy Help with Emotional Eating and Severe Obesity?
A randomised controlled trial published in PLoS One found that a type of talk therapy called Compassion Focused Therapy led to meaningful improvements in mood, emotional eating, shame and self-criticism in people living with severe obesity. Those improvements were still present three months after the therapy ended.
Who Was Studied and How
The trial included 91 people living with severe obesity, defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or above. Participants were randomly placed into one of two groups. One group continued with their usual care, which included dietary advice, assessment by a specialist doctor and an eight-week lifestyle programme. The other group received all of that plus ten weekly two-hour group therapy sessions using Compassion Focused Therapy, a structured form of talk therapy developed specifically for people who experience strong feelings of shame and self-criticism.
What the Researchers Found
Compared to the group who received usual care only, the group who added Compassion Focused Therapy showed statistically and clinically significant improvements across all the psychological outcomes measured. These included mood, emotional eating, shame, self-criticism and the way participants compared themselves to others. The improvements held up when participants were measured again three months after the therapy ended.
What This Study Does and Does Not Tell Us
Because this trial was carried out at a single centre, the findings may not apply to every person or every setting. Results also varied from person to person, which is worth keeping in mind when reading the overall findings.
About this research: Compassion focused group therapy improves depression, emotional eating, self-criticism and shame in people living with severe obesity: A single centre, examiner blind randomized controlled trial. PLoS One, 2026. Read the study summary
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