Open Access

ARTICLE

The Effect of a Psychiatric Nurse–Led AI-Based Online Group Guided Self-Help Program on Eating Behaviours and Body Image among Overweight and Obese Women Nurses: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Gülsüm Zekiye Tuncer^1,*, Zekiye Çetinkaya Duman¹, Metin Tuncer²
1 Department of Psychiatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Türkiye
2 Department of Fundamentals of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Gümüşhane University, Gümüşhane, Türkiye
* Corresponding Author: Gülsüm Zekiye Tuncer. Email:
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: The Use of Generative AI (Chatbots) in Relation to Mental Health and Well-Being)

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2026.081472

Received 03 March 2026; Accepted 29 May 2026; Published online 29 June 2026

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a psychiatric nurse–led, AI-supported online group guided self-help programme on eating behaviours, body image, and body mass index (BMI) among overweight and obese women nurses. Method: A randomised controlled experimental design with pre-test, post-test, and three-month follow-up assessments was employed. Forty-four overweight and obese women nurses were randomly assigned to intervention (n = 22) and control (n = 22) groups. The intervention consisted of an 8-week online group guided self-help programme supported by a large language model (LLM), under the leadership of a psychiatric nurse. Participants did not interact directly with the LLM; all AI-generated feedback was clinically reviewed and delivered by the researcher. Results: The intervention group demonstrated significant reductions in emotional eating and external eating, along with significant improvements in body image scores and adaptive coping strategies. A significant decrease in BMI was also observed from baseline to three-month follow-up. Between-group comparisons at post-test and follow-up indicated statistically significant differences favouring the intervention for eating behaviours and selected body image–related outcomes, whereas between-group differences in BMI were not statistically significant. Conclusion: A multi-component online group guided self-help intervention incorporating structured AI-assisted feedback under psychiatric nurse leadership may represent a promising approach to improving eating behaviours, body image, and weight-related outcomes among overweight and obese women nurses.

---

Keywords

Artificial intelligence; guided self-help; eating behaviour; body image; obesity

---