A program based at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System that studies obesity and eating disorders in veterans has been awarded a federal grant to continue its research into the causes and treatment of binge eating in that population.
The Veterans Initiative for Eating and Weight (The View), a program founded in 2013 by Robin Masheb, PhD, Senior Research Scientist in Psychiatry at Yale, has received a grant from VA Health Services Research & Development to continue its studies of binge eating behaviors in veterans.
The project will leverage the VA’s national weight management program, MOVE!, in tandem with cognitive-behavioral therapy, the best-established treatment for binge eating. Program representatives expect the combined treatment will reduce binge eating, improve mental health, and enhance weight loss response.
Obesity is a leading cause of preventable death, and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is concerned that veterans are disproportionately affected by obesity, and have an inadequate response to weight loss treatment. Binge eating, a problem strongly associated with psychiatric and mental illness, is also highly prevalent among veterans.
Findings show that over three-quarters of overweight or obese veterans who seek weight loss treatment engage in binge eating behavior and, as a result, do not achieve weight loss goals.
The VIEW is focused on the effects of binge eating in the context of veterans who receive behavioral weight loss treatments. The recent federal grant award is a result of a previous study (Masheb et al, 2015) which demonstrated that high-frequency binge eating is a predictor of weight gain among veterans who were enrolled in weight loss treatment.
The VIEW has achieved recognition as one of the leading innovators in the investigation of eating disorders in veterans. It has frequently published research in prominent scientific journals, including Obesity, the Journal of General Internal Medicine, Eating Behaviors, Appetite, and the Journal of Affective Disorders.
The program has three full time staff (director, psychologist, and project director), two part-time staff (psychologist and statistician), trainees (practicum students, interns, and postdoctoral fellows), and VA and non-VA affiliated faculty.