Effects of a Smartphone-Based Approach-Avoidance Intervention on Chocolate Craving and Consumption: Randomized Controlled Trial.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Randomized controlled trial with three parallel arms.
PubMed 31682584 · doi:10.2196/12298
What was done
A 10-day randomized controlled trial evaluated a smartphone-based approach-avoidance intervention in 105 regular chocolate eaters (86% female). Participants were randomized to an experimental group (n=35) performing five sessions of avoiding chocolate stimuli via upward swiping, a placebo control group (n=35) performing five sessions with equal approach and avoidance of chocolate stimuli, or an inactive control group (n=35) with no training. Outcomes included pre- and post-intervention laboratory measures of self-reported chocolate craving, consumption, and body fat mass, alongside daily ecological momentary assessments.
What was found
The abstract reports no specific numerical values. Self-reported chocolate craving, chocolate consumption, and body fat mass significantly decreased from pre- to post-intervention across all three groups without group differences. Daily ecological momentary assessment reports showed no significant differences in chocolate craving or consumption between intervention days and rest days across groups.
Why it matters
This study shows that delivering food approach-avoidance training via smartphone swiping confers no specific benefit for reducing chocolate intake or cravings over simple monitoring or time effects.
Limits
The abstract provides no point estimates, confidence intervals, or exact p-values. The intervention duration was short (10 days, 5 training sessions), the sample was predominantly female (86%), sample size per arm was modest (n=35), and dietary intake measures relied on self-report.