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Psychosocial aspects are highly relevant for the development and maintenance of eating and weight disorders and associated health problems, representing essential targets for both treatment and prevention. The Behavioral Medicine Research Unit at the Integrated Research and Treatment Center AdiposityDiseases, University of Leipzig Medical Center, led by Prof. Dr. Anja Hilbert, is dedicated to the investigation of psychosocial factors of eating and weight disorders, their neuropsychological underpinnings, related psychopathology, and the associated stigma in adults, children, and adolescents. Behavioral medicine involves the application of behavioral methods to medical conditions. Based on basic research, new behavioral and neuroscientific interventions, such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy or Neurofeedback, are developed for the treatment and prevention of eating and weight disorders in adults, children, and adolescents, and their efficacy is evaluated. Interventions that have been proven to be efficacious are directly transferred to treatment within the Obesity Outpatient Units for Adults and Children and Adolescents within the Integrated Research and Treatment Center AdiposityDiseases.

The overarching goal of our research group is to contribute to the long-term improvement of mental and physical health, including successful weight management, of adults, children, and adolescents suffering from eating and weight disorders.