Examining the effects of two dietary intervention approaches on disordered eating-related thoughts and behaviors in adults with moderate to moderately severe depressive symptoms
AI Summary
No increases observed in restrained or external eating (DEBQ) following the two-week minimally processed dietary interventions.
EDE-QS and DEBQ emotional eating decreased post-intervention; emotional and external eating remained lower at follow-up.
Preliminary short-term evidence suggests these interventions are feasible and do not elicit immediate increases in disordered eating-related behaviour; larger, longer studies required.
J Eat Disord. 2026 May 23. doi: 10.1186/s40337-026-01640-8. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Ultra-processed foods comprise a majority of the American diet and have been linked to increased risk for depression. In response, minimally processed dietary interventions are increasingly being evaluated as tools to improve mental health, including within the growing “Food Is Medicine” movement. However, because these approaches emphasize reducing ultra-processed foods, they raise concerns that dietary restriction may inadvertently increase disordered eating-related outcomes. This paper reports an exploratory analysis of data from a randomized pilot trial that tested two minimally processed dietary interventions designed to reduce depressive symptoms among adults with moderate to moderately severe depression. This analysis focused specifically on safety, examining whether these interventions were associated with unintended increases in disordered eating-related outcomes.
METHODS: Participants (N = 31) were randomly assigned to either implement dietary change via self-implemented nutritional guidance or a commercial meal delivery service for 2 weeks. Disordered eating-related outcomes were assessed using the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-QS) and Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) at intake, pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 1- and 6-month follow-ups.
RESULTS: Across dietary conditions, no increases were observed in DEBQ restrained or external eating following the intervention. EDE-QS and DEBQ emotional eating decreased post-intervention, and DEBQ emotional and external eating were lower at follow-up. Changes in outcomes were not moderated by intervention condition.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide preliminary evidence of short-term safety, suggesting that certain dietary interventions emphasizing minimally processed foods are feasible and may not elicit immediate increases in disordered eating-related thoughts and behaviors among adults with depression and without active eating disorders. Larger and longer-term studies are needed to evaluate safety in more diverse and higher-risk populations. Trial registration The parent pilot study is pre-registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06242665) on January 16th, 2024.
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