BEST-U, a 10-week mHealth self-guided cognitive-behavioral therapy app, significantly reduces eating disorders symptoms and clinical impairment.

A pilot multiple-baseline assessment was conducted to examine the effectiveness of Building Healthy Eating and Self-Esteem Together for University Students (BEST-U) in minimizing eating disorder psychopathology among university students.

BEST-U is a 10-week mobile-health (mHealth) self-guided cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT-gsh) app, accompanied by brief weekly telehealth coaching sessions lasting 25-30 minutes.

To evaluate its usefulness in minimizing total eating disorder psychopathology (major endpoint), eating disorder-related clinical impairment, behaviors, and cognition (secondary endpoints), a non-concurrent multiple-baseline design involving eight participants was employed. The data were analyzed using Tau-BC effect-size calculations and visual analysis.

Guided self-help programs exhibited the potential in addressing a crucial treatment gap among university students suffering from an eating disorder.  After completing the 10-week program, participants noticed substantial decreases in symptoms and impairment related to eating disorders. The implementation of BEST-U led to a substantial decline in total eating disorder psychopathology, as well as in excessive exercise, binge eating, and restriction (with effect sizes ranging from -0.39 to -0.92).

While there was a drop in body dissatisfaction, it did not attain significance. The number of volunteers engaging in purging was insufficient to evaluate purging outcomes. Notably, there was a significant reduction in clinical impairment from pre- to post-intervention.

BEST-U yields favorable results in reducing eating disorder symptoms and related clinical impairment. While larger randomized controlled trials are necessary, BEST-U has the potential to be a groundbreaking and scalable solution that could reach a larger population of underserved university students compared to conventional intervention methods.