As you are most likely aware, one of the things that most sets Bright Line Eating® apart is its deep grounding in scientific research. Susan Peirce Thompson’s background is as a tenured psychology professor and her PhD is in Brain and Cognitive Sciences, a cutting-edge and highly interdisciplinary field. She is committed to regularly conveying important and relevant research findings to you, through the weekly vlog and other communications.
But we also conduct our own research. In fact, we have maintained a research program from the very beginning of BLE—and that program has grown and evolved over time. Today, Dr. Thompson and two other accomplished social scientists, Jeanne Hurlbert, PhD and Win Guan, PhD, lead that program. Together we gather data from all of the Bright Line Eating programs so we can document your journeys and celebrate your results.
On this page, we want to share those research results with you. After all, what we value most here at Bright Line Eating is YOU AND YOUR TRANSFORMATION. Below, you’ll find publications and presentations that describe the results that members of our wonderful community have achieved.
Please keep your eye out for new research!
With love,
The BLE Research Team
This study assesses the impact of the Bright Line Eating: Boot Camp (BLE:BC) program on psychosocial outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic
The BLC:BC program is an eight-week commercial telehealth weight loss program founded on the processed food addiction paradigm.
Prospective case series evaluation design
N=751 Participants with Valid Data
As individuals age, they become more susceptible to developing weight-related obesity comorbidities–which makes weight loss and weight maintenance key issues in older age groups. Prior research on the efficacy of weight loss programs across age groups has yielded inconsistent results. The Bright Line Eating (BLE) program, which follows a food addiction model that emphasizes abstinence from added sugars and processed flours, has been shown to be effective for weight loss and weight maintenance. This study builds on that research to assess age-related differences in the efficacy of the BLE program.
Participants in this study (n=4,509; 93.9% white; 95.6% female; 29.6% overweight, 58.2% obese at baseline) attended an 8-week BLE Boot Camp program and completed pre- and post-program surveys that measured demographic characteristics, anthropometrics, and psychosocial factors. We used two-way ANOVA to assess the effect of age on percent weight loss from baseline (%WL) while accounting for race, gender, and program adherence. Logistic regression was used to estimate the effect of age on improvement in quality of life, energy level, and life satisfaction.
Participants experienced 6.5 %WL (SD=5.2) with no significant difference across age groups (F=1.5, p=0.15). After completing the BLE Boot Camp program, 54.3% reported improved quality of life, 46.6% reported higher energy levels, and 60.4% described increased life satisfaction. Percent weight loss was associated with improvements in all of psychosocial factors that we examined (z=13.8, p<.000; z=13.5, p<.000; z=12.4, p<.000). Older study participants were more likely than younger to see an increase in energy level (z=2.8, p=0.01).
This evaluation of the BLE Boot Camp program demonstrated its success across all adult age groups. These results are particularly encouraging, given the need for feasible and scalable weight loss interventions that have been shown to be effective across all demographic groups.
Commercial weight loss programs continue to target modifiable obesity risk factors, including physical activity and nutrition. However, the impact of these commercial programs on individuals’ levels of hunger and food cravings has rarely been reported. Given the associations among hunger, food cravings, caloric intake, and long-term adherence to a particular way of eating, it is important to rigorously examine changes in hunger and cravings among participants in these programs. The present study examines changes in hunger and food cravings among participants in Bright Line Eating: Boot Camp (BLE: BC), an 8-week telehealth commercial weight loss program.
Data come from 10 weekly surveys (including a program baseline and ending survey) completed by n = 1208 individuals enrolled and completed the BLE: BC program between September 2018 and November 2019. This time-frame was selected as a result of the availability of data on daily levels of hunger and food cravings. We focus on the primary outcome variables of hunger and food cravings measured through weekly self-reported survey data. In addition to examining trends in hunger and cravings over the course of the BLE: BC, we also stratified the primary outcomes by baseline weight status.
Participants in the present study were predominantly white (93.2%), female (95.6%), and of high socioeconomic status. We used ANOVA tests to examine variation in hunger and food cravings at baseline and change from baseline to program completion. Baseline levels of hunger and food cravings were higher among participants who were at a higher baseline weight status (F = 16.4, P < .001). On average, participants experienced significant reductions in hunger and food cravings from baseline to program completion (P < .001). Participants who began the program at a higher body mass index experienced greater reductions in their levels of hunger and food cravings (F = 13.3, P < .001).
Changes in hunger and food cravings constitute important components of success in commercial weight loss programs. The present study reports daily self-reported levels of hunger and food cravings for participants enrolled in an 8-week telehealth commercial weight loss program. The results show significant reductions in hunger and cravings among BLE: BC program participants.
This study assesses the effectiveness of the Bright Line Eating Boot Camp (BLE: BC), an eight-week
telehealth weight management program.
Data come from participants in the BLE: BC research program. The final sample (n=5,374) contained primarily white adults (92.8%), females (95.2%), and individuals who reported high socioeconomic status (96.0% had completed at least some college and 47.4% reported an annual family income of at least $100,000). We focus in this manuscript on the primary outcomes of percent weight loss and change in body mass index from baseline. Secondary outcomes include program satisfaction and perceptions of healthy eating.
Approximately 95% of participants lost weight between baseline and completion of the BLE: BC. During the eight weeks, average percent weight loss was 7.8 (SD=7.5) and body mass index declined by an average of 2.6 (SD=2.3). Spearman’s correlation tests show that participants who reported expending more effort and participating more in the program reported greater percent weight loss (rs=0.39, p<0.001 and rs=0.34, p<0.001, respectively) and larger reduction in body mass index (rs=0.36, p<0.001 and rs=0.33, p<0.001, respectively). The majority of participants (88.6%) reported being satisfied with the program and 90.4% reported that healthy eating became easier.
The results of this study support the efficacy of the BLE: BC as a fully online, telehealth weight loss program. Future studies should assess the long-term weight loss and maintenance of BLE: BC participants and endeavor to specify mechanisms for the observed weight change. Although we acknowledge limitations in generalizability of the results due to the lack of a comparison group and selection bias in the sample, the results show clinically-significant weight loss among the majority of BLE: BC participants.
Obesity remains a pervasive preventable disease. Numerous weight loss options are available, however, few programs report even modest sustained weight loss. Here, we describe results from the Bright Line Eating program (BLE). BLE is a recently developed web-based weight loss program. The core principles of BLE consist of following clear, unambiguous boundaries referred to as bright lines. The four Bright Lines are: Sugar, Flour, Meals, and Quantities. Specifically, (1) no sugar consumption (2) no flour consumption, (3) eating 3 meals per day with no snacking, (4) weighing and measuring meals. BLE also contains a unique and comprehensive support mechanism based on 12-step programs.
Author: Thaw, A.K.
Published Online: The FASEB Journal. Vol. 31, No. 1 supplement.
Abstract Number: 796.14
Obesity continues to be one of the most prevalent preventable diseases affecting persons from all backgrounds and geographic regions. Numerous commercial or free weight loss programs are now available to consumers via web-based platforms. This paper describes a recently developed web-based weight loss and weight maintenance program designed with a unique and comprehensive support mechanism for participants. The Bright Line Eating program has been tailored to address a variety of issues related to excess food consumption, including such challenging behaviors as food addiction. The program consists of an 8-week long instructional period, combined with several levels of support in the form of information, food plans, behavior change, phone or internet based discussions, and recorded materials, to promote weight loss. The program is intentionally modifiable such that anyone may participate regardless of their specific goals. Results from 182 participants reveal a 20 pound weight loss over the 8 week instructional period. Analysis of the main programmatic tools provide insight into which aspects of this web-based program are most useful to participants. Specifically, support from the program (coaching calls, discussion groups with other participants and Bright Line Eating staff support) represented 3 of the top 5 most used tools. Follow up studies are underway to monitor the long term weight loss of participants.
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