What is BEST4US?

Binge-Eating Self-Help Treatment for University Students is a federally funded study conducted by the Eating and Weight Research Lab at Wesleyan University.  The study is being performed in collaboration with Manchester Community College and aims to determine whether a self-help program for binge eating in college students is…

  • feasible (“can the program be delivered?”),
  • acceptable (“do students find the program acceptable?”), and
  • effective (“does the program work”?)

To check your initial eligibility, take our 2-minute, online screener:

BEST4US self-screening survey

 

What does study participation entail?

BEST4US will compare two versions of a self-help program that has been effective in previous studies.

Students enrolled in our study will complete:

  1. An 8-week self-help program comprised of weekly activities designed to overcome binge eating. Random assignment will be used to decide which version a student will receive. One version involves “pure” self-help [access to the self-help program], the other version involves peer-guided self-help [access to the self-help program and 8 brief peer-guided coaching sessions].
  2. Three confidential assessment appointments during which our research staff collects information that will help us monitor the effectiveness of the program. These assessments occur at study entry, 8 weeks into the study, and at a 6-month follow-up. In addition, students will be asked to complete a web-based 3-day food diary at the time of each assessment, so that we can determine whether or not eating behaviors have improved in response to the program.

Participants are compensated for their time and effort required to complete the study measures. Participants who need to travel to our research offices will be compensated for travel expenses such as mileage and parking fees.

Participants receive $ 50 for completing each assessment. Participants who attend all three assessments and provide complete data for the study will receive a one-time bonus of $ 50.

 

Who may participate in BES4US?

Potential study participants undergo two eligibility-screens and a baseline interview. The first eligibility screen consists of an anonymous web-based survey; students receive tailored feedback in response to their answers. If the anonymous screener deems a student ‘eligible,’ the interested student is invited to leave us their contact information. The second screening involves a brief telephone interview where study staff gathers basic information again (because the first survey is anonymous, by definition, we do not know how students answered our screening questions). In a final step, we invite eligible students for a more in-depth assessment (“baseline” assessment) to verify study eligibility.

 

Why treat binge eating in college students?

Our lab targets binge eating in college students for three major reasons.

  1. Binge eating is common in college students for a variety of reasons. For example, students often juggle multiple demanding tasks and report high levels of anxiety and stress. They may turn to food to cope with stress or anxiety, but in the long run, binge eating adds to a sense of feeling out of control and stressed out.
  2. Many students who binge eat feel very upset about this behavior and want to learn how to gain control over their eating and eat more mindfully. For our study, we have taken a program that has been proven helpful in studies of older adults, and we have adapted it in ways that we hope will make it useful for helping college students overcome binge eating.
  3. Frequent binge eating, and binge eating that occurs over extended periods of time, can lead to excess weight gain. Some degree of weight gain is normal during the period of young adulthood. However, when people binge eat, they may experience weight gain to an unhealthy degree. Our study examines whether treating binge eating in college students is an effective way of preventing unhealthy weight gain.