Our treatment method - continued

The treatment starts with an evaluation including a physical examination with laboratory tests, evaluation of Binge-Eating Disorder(BED), rating of self-esteem, mental health, restrained eating, quality of life and determination of the food intake during 24 hours. Patients also eat a meal with Mandometer® to get a basis for training curves regarding eating rate and satiety. The same evaluation is made after the treatment has been completed.

Read more about the Mandometer® device

An individual food and treatment program is prepared together with the patient during the first treatment session. It is a structured schedule for meals, activity, rest and sleep. Here the patients receive answers to their most common questions. She/he often has low confidence in her/his own ability to change. Therefore the therapist sets up short- and long-term social goals together with the patient. When the patient eventually achieves her/his goals, the confidence in her/his own ability changes. The goals are part of a reward program and the patient receives a gift when the goals have been achieved during a four-week period. It is behavioral changes not weight changes that are rewarded.   

 

When the patient loses weight the stomach adapts and the feeling of satiety commences earlier during the meal. Hunger and satiety is modified by means of Mandometer® and SatietyMeter®.

The treatment therapist who is either a registered dietician, nurse our behaviorist, meets the patient every week during the first six weeks, then every second week during the following six weeks and finally once every six weeks. A total of 40 visits are required of which 15 are telephone visits. At the follow-up sessions which take 50 minutes, weight is controlled and if required the the food and training programme is modified. The out-patient treatment takes one year.

 

At these visits the amount eaten by the patient and the patient's estimation of her/his satiety is measured. It is done with Mandometer® but without training curves. Furthermore the food intake during 24 hours is determined. With the help of the results the patient's training curves are corrected and new curves are inserted into Mandometer®.

 

The same evaluation as at the start of the treatment is performed after the treatment has been ended.