Improving the post-meal experience of hospitalised patients with eating disorders using visuospatial, verbal and somatic activities

BACKGROUND This study compares the effects of different cognitive tasks on post-meal negative affect, positive affect, intrusive thoughts and intrusive images of hospitalised patients with eating disorders. METHODS Twenty-five participants were recruited from an eating disorder service. Using a within-subjects design, participants performed one of the following tasks for 15 min: the game 'Tetris' (visuospatial), a general knowledge 'Quiz' (verbal), 'Braille' translation (somatic) and 'Sitting Quietly' (control). In total, participants completed each task on three occasions. RESULTS The visuospatial, verbal and somatic tasks had beneficial effects on all positive and negative indicators, when compared with 'Sitting Quietly'. Visuospatial and somatic tasks were more effective at reducing intrusive imagery than the verbal task. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that certain engaging activities can help hospitalised patients with eating disorders manage the difficult post-meal period.