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A Randomized Controlled Trial of an Interactive Non-Stigmatizing Intervention to Prevent Eating Disorders in Youths Through Strengthening of Protective Factors

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What is being tested

Enhancing protective factors

+ Expressive writing

Behavioral
Who is being recruted

Feeding and Eating Disorders+2

+ Mental Disorders

+ Signs and Symptoms

From 15 to 20 Years
See all eligibility criteria
How is the trial designed

Prevention Study

Placebo-Controlled
Interventional
Study Start: May 2023
See protocol details

Summary

Principal SponsorKarolinska Institutet
Study ContactAta Ghaderi, PhDMore contacts
Last updated: January 28, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Study start date: May 15, 2023

Actual date on which the first participant was enrolled.

Research area and aims: Eating disorders (EDs) are common and cause significant morbidity and mortality. Due to stigma, only 25% seek help and only 50% fully recover after receiving treatments. Large-scale prevention is urgently needed to reduce the emergence and burden of EDs at a population level. However, current prevention programs do not meet requirements for efficient and economically attractive large-scale implementation. The main aim of this project is to investigate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a scalable, brief, and interactive prevention program based on reinforcement of protective factors against EDs using a randomized controlled design. A focus on protective factors disrupts the processes by which risk factors increase the probability for EDs to emerge and minimizes the risks for stigmatization. Research questions: 1. How effective is an internet-based prevention program, that reinforces protective factors against EDs, in reducing the onset of EDs 6, 12, 24, and 36 months post-intervention? 2. Does the intervention reduce the incidence of EDs through enhancement of specifically targeted protective factors (mediators)? 3. Is prevention of EDs based on reinforcement of protective factors cost-effective? 4. How do the participant experience their participation in these two interventions? Other research questions concern gender differences in enrollment and compliance, potential moderators of outcome, participation in booster sessions, and potential risk for stigma.

Official TitleA Randomized Controlled Trial of an Interactive Non-Stigmatizing Intervention to Prevent Eating Disorders in Youths Through Strengthening of Protective Factors
NCT05863598
Principal SponsorKarolinska Institutet
Study ContactAta Ghaderi, PhDMore contacts
Last updated: January 28, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Protocol

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.
Design Details

644 patients to be enrolled

Total number of participants that the clinical trial aims to recruit.

Prevention Study

Prevention studies aim to stop a disease from developing. They often involve people at risk and test things like vaccines, lifestyle changes, or preventive medications.



Eligibility

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.
Conditions
Criteria

Any sex

Biological sex of participants that are eligible to enroll.

From 15 to 20 Years

Range of ages for which participants are eligible to join.

Healthy volunteers allowed

If individuals who are healthy and do not have the condition being studied can participate.

Conditions

Pathology

Feeding and Eating DisordersMental DisordersSigns and SymptomsSigns and Symptoms, DigestivePathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria: Youth and young people (15-20 years) with a subjective experience of body dissatisfaction. Exclusion Criteria: Indications of depression, or suicidality, as well as presence of an eating disorder, or other conditions that may require medical attention, or conditions that makes it impossible to complete the intervention (e.g., not being able to read and write in Swedish).

Study Plan

Find out more about all the medication administered in this study, their detailed description and what they involve.
Treatment Groups
Study Objectives

2 intervention groups are designated in this study

50% chance of being blinded to the placebo group

Treatment Groups

Group I

Experimental
Participants will learn to improve their body image through body appreciation tasks, body image flexibility and focus on body functionality appreciation. They also learn to focus on important life values, be more accepting of themselves, and learn to eat regularly and with attention to bodily needs and signals. This is don in interactive ways, and by using a cognitive dissonance frame.

Group II

Placebo
Participants will be instructed to write about any thoughts, feelings, images, memories, interceptions, ideas or emotions related to their body for the same during as the active intervention (i.e., 40 minutes/week across four consecutive weeks).

Study Objectives

Primary Objectives

Secondary Objectives

Study Centers

These are the hospitals, clinics, or research facilities where the trial is being conducted. You can find the location closest to you and its status.

This study has 1 location

Recruiting

Karolinska Institutet

Solna, SwedenOpen Karolinska Institutet in Google Maps
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One Study Center