TY  - EJOU
AU  - Tuncer, Gülsüm Zekiye 
AU  - Duman, Zekiye Çetinkaya 
AU  - Tuncer, Metin 

TI  - 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
T2  - International Journal of Mental Health Promotion

PY  - 
VL  - 
IS  - 
SN  - 2049-8543

AB  - <b>Aim:</b> 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. <b>Method:</b> 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. <b>Results:</b> 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. <b>Conclusion:</b> 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.
KW  - Artificial intelligence; guided self-help; eating behaviour; body image; obesity

DO  - 10.32604/ijmhp.2026.081472