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Review
. 2022 Aug 24;11(17):4956.
doi: 10.3390/jcm11174956.

Various Types of Virtual Reality-Based Therapy for Eating Disorders: A Systematic Review

Julia Ciążyńska  1 , Janusz Maciaszek  1
Affiliations
Review

Various Types of Virtual Reality-Based Therapy for Eating Disorders: A Systematic Review

Julia Ciążyńska et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

(1) Background: Interactive VR (virtual reality) environments (i.e., using three-dimensional graphics presented with a head-mounted display) have recently become a popular professional tool for the treatment of patients with eating disorders (EDs). However, there are no published review reports that have analyzed the original papers between 2015 and 2021, which additionally focused only on HMD (head-mounted display) 3DVR (three-dimensional virtual reality) exposure and included only three therapeutic categories for ED patients. (2) Methods: The EbscoHost and Scopus databases were searched to identify relevant papers on VR research employing VR in the assessment and treatment of eating disorders. (3) Results: In addition to the known therapeutic divisions for ED, there are new forms of therapy based on 360 cameras, eye-tracking, and remote therapy. (4) Conclusions: The potential of VR in combination with different therapies may offer an alternative for future research. More rigorous testing, especially in terms of larger sample sizes, the inclusion of control groups or multisessions, and follow-up measures, is still needed. The current state of research highlights the importance of the nature and content of VR interventions for ED patients. Future research should look to incorporate more home-based and remote forms of VR tools.

Keywords: anorexia nervosa; binge eating disorder; body image disturbance; bulimia nervosa; eating disorders; head-mounted display; health; therapy intervention; virtual reality.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Risk of bias of all included papers [5,6,7,8,9,10,11,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Overview of the screening and paper selection process (PRISMA flowchart).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Overview of the included papers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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