J Pharm Bioallied Sci. 2025 Sep;17(Suppl 3):S2563-S2565. doi: 10.4103/jpbs.jpbs_899_25. Epub 2025 Jul 24.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Emotional hyporexia, a form of intentional food avoidance triggered by emotional distress, presents a growing health concern among adolescent girls. Addressing this behavior through psychological intervention is essential for preventing long-term health complications.
AIM: This pilot study evaluated the effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (EFCBT) in reducing emotional hyporexia among adolescent girls experiencing eating-related problems.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A quasi-experimental design was adopted, involving 40 adolescent girls aged 16-18 years, equally divided into experimental (n = 20) and control (n = 20) groups. The experimental group received eight structured sessions of EFCBT focused on enhancing emotional regulation and promoting adaptive eating behaviors. Eating problems were initially screened using a modified version of the EAT-26 scale, and emotional hyporexia was assessed using a self-structured scale during both pre- and post-tests.
RESULTS: Post-intervention analysis revealed a statistically significant reduction in emotional hyporexia scores within the experimental group (mean pre-test: 54.04 ± 10.56; post-test: 22.2 ± 3.58; P < 0.05). No significant changes were observed in the control group (P > 0.05), and no demographic factors were found to be associated with outcome variation.
CONCLUSION: Emotion-Focused Cognitive Behaviour Therapy appears to be a promising intervention for reducing emotional hyporexia among adolescent girls. Further large-scale randomized controlled trials are recommended to validate these preliminary findings.
PMID:41164596 | PMC:PMC12564058 | DOI:10.4103/jpbs.jpbs_899_25
