The effect of the dialectical behavioral therapy on emotion regulation, impulsivity and body mass index in overweight and obese teenage girls

Teenage obesity is so important issue in health as it is a defining indicator of obesity in adulthood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a dialectical behavioral therapy on emotion regulation, impulsivity and body mass index (BMI) in obese or overweight teenage girls.

The present study was a randomized clinical trial with pretest-posttest and control group. The study population included overweight and obese girl students (n=40) aged 13-15 years in Kashan, Iran, in the academic year of 2018-2019. The students were selected through target-based sampling, and randomly assigned into intervention and control groups. Participants completed emotion regulation and impulsivity questionnaires and their BMI was assessed. The intervention group underwent the dialectical behavior therapy, while the control group received no treatment. 

Dialectical behavior therapy significantly reduced the mean scores of difficulties in emotion regulation (F=7.36, P<0.01) and BMI (F=9.15, P<0.001) compared to the control group. However, the mean score of impulsivity in the treatment group did not decrease significantly (F=1.52, P>0.05).

According to the current findings, the dialectical behavior therapy can be considered as an effective therapeutic approach to reduce the difficulty in emotion regulation and BMI in obese or overweight teenagers.