Stapleton, P., Chatwin, H. · OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine · 2018
A 4-week EFT program produced food craving, weight, and BMI reductions comparable in effect size to an 8-week program, with no significant differences between the two treatment lengths.
If findings like these hold up in larger trials, the promise is simple: a low-cost, self-administered tool that could reach people struggling with weight & food cravings who can't easily access traditional care — at home, between appointments, or where there aren't enough clinicians to go around.
The natural next step: longer-term follow-up to see how durable the benefit is, and an active ('sham tapping') control to isolate what's doing the work.
| Design | Controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Participants | 143 people |
| Population | overweight and obese adults with food cravings |
| Comparison group | waitlist (study one only) |
| Outcome measures | food cravings, power of food, dietary restraint, BMI, weight |
| Journal | OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine |
| Year | 2018 |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Method | EFT / tapping |
| Publication type | Study / trial |
| Verification | ✓ Confirmed against the primary source |
Stapleton, P., & Chatwin, H. (2018). Emotional Freedom Techniques for Food Cravings in Overweight Adults: A Comparison of Treatment Length. OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine. https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.1803013
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 Weight & Food Cravings
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