How do women with eating disorders experience a new treatment combining guided physical exercise and dietary therapy? An interview study of women participating in a randomised controlled trial at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences

OBJECTIVES: To investigate how women with bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED) experience participating in a new treatment programme for eating disorders, based on guided physical exercise and dietary therapy. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: Six women with BN and four with BED were semistructurally interviewed. Transcribed interviews were analysed using a text-condensing analytic approach. RESULTS: The analysis resulted in four main categories: (1) ‘a renewed attitude towards physical activity’, (2) ‘a new perception of food’, (3) ‘mixed feelings of being in a heterogeneous treatment group’ and (4) ‘insight in one’s own recovery process’, each with 2-4 subcategories to express nuances. CONCLUSION: The treatment was experienced as beneficial. Improvements in the implementation of the programme were suggested. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02079935.