Game-based early help for eating and body-image concerns
Official title: FlexED: A Digital, Gamified Early Intervention for Eating Disorders
Funded at Duke University · NIH-10950398 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A gamified smartphone program to help teens and young adults with early signs of eating disorders build body-image flexibility and healthier coping skills.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Duke University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Durham, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2022 |
| Project end | July 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $520,342 |
| NIH project number | 4R33MH127137-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-10950398 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adolescents and young adults who are showing early signs of disordered eating or persistent body dissatisfaction and who can use a smartphone or the internet.
✕Less likely to help
People with severe, long-standing, or medically unstable eating disorders will likely need higher-intensity, in-person medical and psychiatric care and may not benefit from this low-intensity digital program.
What this research studies
You would use a digital, game-like program developed with input from young people to practice handling upsetting body thoughts and feelings without turning to disordered eating. The program is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and uses interactive, fun exercises to train skills called body-image flexibility. It was piloted in an initial proof-of-concept and this project is expanding that work to reach more adolescents and young adults who notice early symptoms. Most activities happen on your phone or online, with some study check-ins managed by Duke University researchers.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If it works, this program could reduce the chance that early eating problems become more serious and improve daily functioning and body-image resilience.
How similar studies have gone: Early pilot data are promising, but using gamified ACT to train body-image flexibility for early eating disorder prevention is relatively new and not yet widely tested.
Where this research is happening
-
Duke University
Durham, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Merwin, Rhonda M — Duke University
- Study coordinator: Merwin, Rhonda M
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Global brain imaging study to understand anorexia in teens and how it affects outcomes
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Anxiety and body-sense as a warning for eating disorders in kids
This project looks at whether anxiety and how kids sense their internal body signals can signal the kind of eating problems that lead to eating disorders in children and teens.
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FlexED: a fun digital program to help teens with eating concerns
A teen-friendly digital program uses gamification and acceptance-based techniques to help 15-year-olds manage body image and related eating concerns earlier, before patterns become hard to change.
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3-D bedside scanning to track malnutrition in anorexia nervosa
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Reducing minority stress to help sexual minority adults with eating disorders
This project tests a new, identity-affirming treatment approach designed to help sexual minority adults with eating disorders by addressing stigma-related stress and coping skills.
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Researchers will study how restrictive eating disorders affect brain white matter development in young people using brain scans and related data.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.