Researchers in France tested whether adding a special program to standard care could help adults with obesity manage emotional eating. The program, called Bathysmed®, combined therapeutic scuba diving with mindfulness exercises over two months. They compared it to standard care alone, which included dietary and psychological support. The study involved 63 adults, mostly women with a median age of 46 and a median BMI of 35.46.
At the end of the two-month program, people who did the diving and mindfulness activities reported a significantly greater reduction in their emotional eating scores than those who received only standard care. The study also found that the program helped reduce feelings of weight-related stigma and stress, and improved quality of life. These positive changes were still present when researchers checked again at five and eight months.
No safety concerns or serious adverse events were reported in the study, though one person from each group was excluded from the final analysis. The main reason to be careful with these results is that the study was small and not blinded, meaning both participants and researchers knew who was in which group. This can sometimes influence how people report their feelings and behaviors.
Readers should view this as promising early evidence that combining physical activity like diving with psychological techniques might help with emotional eating. However, it's too soon to know if this approach would work for everyone or lead to long-term weight changes. Larger, more rigorous studies are needed before this could become a widely recommended treatment option.