Morelife Unveils Successful Binge Eating Intervention at Global Obesity Summit

9th November 2022

Morelife is a leading UK provider of community healthy lifestyle services, we have unveiled the positive outcomes from our pilot intervention programme to support individuals living with binge eating disorders (BED).

Dr Sophie Edwards, Clinical Lead in Health and Psychology at Morelife and Professor Paul Gately, CEO of Morelife and one of the UK’s most respected experts in obesity and exercise, presented the findings of the pilot at the International Congress on Obesity (ICO) held at the Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre in Australia at the end of October.

Attended by approximately 1,000 delegates from a range of disciplines, including clinicians, policymakers and UN representatives, the ICO aims to educate on a wide range of obesity topics whilst providing access to the most cutting-edge developments in the prevention and treatment of obesity.

Morelife’s pilot programme assessed the preliminary effectiveness of delivering an evidence-based guided self-help (GSH) intervention for adults with binge eating disorders, prior to participation in the NHS England-funded Tier 3 weight management programme.

85% of participants reduced their binge eating and 46% ceased binge eating altogether. All but one participant then undertook a Tier 3 weight management programme run by Morelife, successful completion of which is a pre-requisite for being referred into bariatric surgery (Tier 4 services).

Dr Sophie Edwards, Clinical Director at Morelife, said: “Binge eating is common in those living with obesity and access to BED services is not widely available. Programmes such as this guided self-help intervention are of huge importance to ensure that those living with binge eating disorders have access to the right support.

“We are delighted by the success of the pilot programme, which has now secured future funding from South Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) so that we can commission further psychologically guided self-help programmes for individuals prior to accessing Tier 3 weight management services.”

One participant from the programme praised the experience by saying: “My practitioner, who helped me through the binge eating course was wonderful. She helped me to gain a lot of faith in myself. I learned to look at things differently; how to be more mindful and present in the moment. This helped me during mealtime because if I’m more present, I am less likely to overeat.”

Morelife is already commissioned by Public Health teams in Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes, Essex and Suffolk to offer Tier 3 weight management programmes for individuals who have or are living with comorbidities with a BMI of 35 or higher, or those with a BMI higher than 40 living with or without comorbidities.

The company is a subsidiary of Leeds Beckett University and works closely with the University’s Centre for Applied Obesity Research to design and deliver evidence-based healthy lifestyle programmes across the UK.  It was founded by Professor Paul Gately who is one of the UK’s most respected experts in obesity and exercise.

To find out more about Morelife’s weight management programmes and guided self-help intervention click here.