A 1-year videoconferencing-based psychoeducational group intervention following bariatric surgery: results of a randomized controlled study.

Background: For severely obese patients, bariatric surgery has been recommended as an effective therapy.

Objectives: The Bariataric Surgery and Education (BaSE) study aimed to assess the efficacy of a videoconferencing-based psychoeducational group intervention in patients after bariatric surgery.

Setting: The BaSE study is a randomized, controlled multicenter clinical trial involving 117 patients undergoing bariatric surgery (mean preoperative body mass index [BMI] 49.

Translation and validation of the German version of the weight self-stigma questionnaire (WSSQ).

The experience of stigmatization is widespread among obese patients. The aim of the present study was to translate the English version of the weight self-stigma questionnaire (WSSQ) into German and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the German version in a sample of severely obese persons. Between March and June 2013, in the Outpatient Department of Obesity, University Hospital Heidelberg, 94 obese patients were recruited consecutively.

Development of a group therapy to enhance treatment motivation and decision making in severely obese patients with a comorbid mental disorder.

Background: The prevalence rate of mental disorders in severely obese patients appears to be high. In the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Heidelberg, we established a short outpatient group intervention for severely obese patients with an affective, anxiety, and/or eating disorder who either are not able to make a clear decision for an intensive weight loss program or who have already decided to undergo bariatric surgery but are advised to attend a support group before surgery. The aim of the group intervention was to reduce depressive symptoms and, in indecisive patients, to enhance the motivation of the patients for engagement in further intensive treatment programs, including bariatric surgery.