effectiveness of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy in weight loss, stress, anxiety, and depression via virtual group therapy

Background: the obesity crisis is one of the major public health issues in the 21st century, and depression, anxiety, and stress are the psychological factors that mediate obesity. objectives: this research was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of internet-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (icbt) in reducing body mass index (bmi), stress, anxiety, and depression in overweight women via a virtual group. methods: this randomized controlled trial study was conducted on three groups of the experiment, the waiting list, and the treatment-as-usual. it was done as single-phase, single-center, and double-blinded. the statistical population included all women with bmi ≥ 25 in neyshabur city in 2019 - 2020. the research sample included 90 subjects randomly assigned to the groups. the therapeutic intervention was applied in the form of 42 icbt sessions using a virtual whatsapp group. the participants completed the depression anxiety stress scale (dass), and their bmi was also calculated before and after the sessions. results: the analysis of covariance indicated the significant effect of icbt on the reduction of bmi compared to the usual treatment group and waiting list group [f (72, 2) = 15.54, p < 0.0005; partialη2 = 0.30]. however, it was not significant on the reduction of stress [f (72, 2) = 0.47, p = 0.63; partialη2 = 0.01], anxiety [f (72, 2) = 0.49, p = 0.61; partialη2 = 0.01], and depression [f (72, 2) = 0.06, p = 0.93; partialη2 = 0.002]. conclusions: the present study showed the direct effect of icbt on the reduction of bmi like the treatment-as-usual for obesity. however, these sessions could not reduce the participants’ stress, anxiety, and depression.