Stapleton, P., et al. · 2013
Depression symptoms decreased by 21% (d=0.37) in this sample; the same study's anxiety outcome (analyzed N=96) is recorded separately with d=0.27.
Think of someone whose weight struggles and low mood feed into each other in a discouraging loop. If this modest effect strengthens with more research, tapping — learnable on one's own and free to keep practicing — could become one small piece of a broader plan for people managing depression tied to body image and weight, not a stand-alone fix, but a genuine option worth having.
Weight struggles and low mood can feed into each other through a shared stress-eating cycle, so the interesting next step is testing whether this modest depression benefit tracks objective markers implicated in that cycle — cortisol, insulin or leptin, or inflammatory markers linked to both obesity and depression. It would also be worth testing whether combining tapping with existing weight-management or nutrition programs produces a bigger combined effect than either approach alone.
| Design | Randomized trial |
|---|---|
| Participants | 45 people |
| Population | overweight/obese adults |
| Comparison group | waitlist |
| Effect size | Cohen's d = 0.37 — on depressive symptoms |
| Outcome measures | SA-45 |
| Journal | Original publication venue not confirmed (indexed via Nelms & Castel 2016 Table 4) |
| Year | 2013 |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Method | EFT / tapping |
| Publication type | Study / trial |
| Verification | Transcribed from a peer-reviewed source; pending independent confirmation |
Stapleton, P., & et al. (2013). Trial of EFT in overweight/obese adults — depression outcome (as tabulated in Nelms & Castel 2016). https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/573532
This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/tapping. Explore more studies on Depression · Weight & Food Cravings
A ready-made graphic — right-click or long-press to save the image.