OPTIMIZed – Optimização de estratégias de avaliação, prevenção e tratamento das perturbações alimentares

The general objectives of the current project are to optimize the prevention and treatment of disordered eating associated with both eating disorders and obesity. Namely: 1) Optimize screening and assessment tools that allow to reliably identify those at risk of developing disordered eating and those with an eating disorder. 2) Optimize prevention strategies of disordered eating and eating disorders, by tackling body dissatisfaction, that has been identified as a putative risk for disordered eating 3) Optimize early treatment strategies by testing the effectiveness and efficacy of short-term interventions designed to tackle eating disorder’s symptoms. 4) Develop algorithms for personalizing interventions. 5) Optimize the dissemination of the best treatment available. First we will adapt two important instruments for the assessment of disordered eating and eating disorders. One, adapt and test the InsideOut Institute Screener (IOI-S) (InsideOut Institute for Eating Disorders) (2018), a short measure designed to identify those at risk of developing and eating disorder. Second, translate the Eating Disorder Assessment for DSM-5 (EDA-5), a semi-structured interview to identify feeding or eating disorders based on the criteria of DSM-5 and conduct a cross-cultural adaptation of a harmonized Portuguese version to be used in Portugal and Brazil. Second, contribute to the study of eating disorder prevention and body acceptance promotion programs by implementing a randomized controlled trial of Body Project in Portugal with a large and diverse sample. Participants will be assigned to a passive control group (waitlist), an active control group (homework exercises only) or an intervention group (online or in-person), according to age (18-29 years, 30-44 years, 45-60 years) and gender (men, women, mixed gender). Third, conduct a clinical trial is to determine whether a group-delivered dissonance-based transdiagnostic eating disorder treatment, Body Project Treatment (BPT) yields outcomes that are not inferior to those obtained with group delivered CBT-BN and if personal variables of the patient might act as moderator or mediator variables in the treatment outcome. Namely it is hypothesised that patients with issues around body image will do better in BPT and those characterized by impulsivity will do better in CBT-BN. Fourth, create an individualized network of symptoms for each participant with a current eating disorder. This network will be used to develop a personalized treatment intervention. Lastly, promote the developing of a Disordered Eating Treatment - Research Practice Network. Clinicians will be encouraged to attend and present on their practice, and academics will focus on translating research results relevant to clinical practice. Simultaneously, we will develop a dedicated webpage that will provide a way to register on the network, obtain information about the network and training activities, as well as access clinical resources, and general information for the public In summary, our objectives are reflected in the acronym of the project O - Objective assessment and diagnosis P - Prevention and early intervention strategies T - Tailored treatment plans for individual needs I - Innovative approaches to treatment M - Multidisciplinary approach to care I - Integration of evidence-based practices Z - Zero tolerance for stigma and discrimination E - Empowerment of patients and caregivers D - Data-driven improvement of care