Can a text message help treat anorexia? a new study tests personalized motivation
NCT ID NCT02076854
First seen Jul 20, 2026 · Last updated Jul 21, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether personalized motivational text messages can help adults with anorexia nervosa increase their motivation to change and their calorie intake. Participants receive these texts alongside cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which is provided at no cost. The study tracks changes in eating disorder symptoms, motivation, and how practical and acceptable the text-message program is.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- personalized motivational text messages as an adjunct to cognitive behavioral therapy
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this approach could offer a low-cost, scalable way to boost motivation and improve eating behaviors in people with anorexia nervosa.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small pilot study with only 12 participants, so results may not apply broadly. The intervention is an add-on to therapy, and its effects may be modest or hard to separate from the therapy itself.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
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Locations
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Eating Disorders Program, Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States
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