# Binge Eating Spectrum Treatment in Older Women (BESTOW): An Investigation and Intervention-Tailoring Project

> **NIH NIH K76** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER · 2022 · $237,336

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
This Beeson Emerging Leaders in Aging Career Development Award (K76) seeks to equip Dr. Lisa Kilpela with
the expertise and professional skill set needed to become a leading gerontological expert in disordered eating
and nutrition pathology, and to advance this emerging and important field. As women age, biological,
psychological, and lifestyle changes can contribute to nutritional disorders and associated health problems.
Among older women, an increasingly recognized factor that can exacerbate these concerns is eating disorder
pathology, which constitutes a group of complex psychiatric disorders characterized by dysregulated and
abnormal eating behaviors. When left untreated, eating disorders can cause significant morbidity and mortality.
Historically conceptualized as disorders of youth, a rapidly evolving body of research suggests that eating
disorder symptoms are surprisingly prevalent in older women. Dr. Kilpela’s preliminary research as a Pepper
Center RL5 Scholar found that the most common form of disordered eating in older women is binge eating
(BE; defined as eating an unusually large amount of food while feeling a loss of control), with 26.5% of women
aged 60+ reporting at least weekly BE episodes. BE is closely linked to obesity and depression and, even
independent of these comorbidities, is associated with metabolic dysfunction, sleep problems, disability, and
poorer quality of life. Therefore, BE appears to represent a significant health problem for older women with
greater prevalence than once thought. Although evidence-based treatments for BE exist for younger women,
these treatments need to be tailored for older women in order to address aging-related factors not present in
younger women that have implications for treatment (e.g., cognitive decline, menopausal symptoms). As such,
the proposed research aims to: (1) identify factors that uniquely impact older women in relation to BE, (2)
utilize information gathered in Aim 1 to guide development of a theory-driven, behavioral intervention tailored
for older women with BE and pilot implementation to determine its feasibility, and (3) integrate work completed
in Aims 1 and 2 within a career development program to advance the Dr. Kilpela’s knowledge and expertise in
(a) clinical gerontology, (b) women’s health in aging, and (c) their integration in the context of BE, to support an
R01 application for a full-scale trial. Complementary to the proposed research, Dr. Kilpela will complete a
program of career development to gain the scientific and professional development skills to transition to an
independent investigator. This proposal is supported by a mentorship team of renowned scientists in aging
research (Drs. Musi and Espinoza), women’s health (Dr. LaCroix), and eating disorders (Dr. Keel), and
advisors in geriatric medicine education (Dr. Sanchez-Reilly) and biostatistics (Dr. Gelfond). This team, along
with resources available through the San Antonio Pepper Center...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10460455
- **Project number:** 5K76AG060003-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Lisa Kilpela
- **Activity code:** K76 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $237,336
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-01 → 2025-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10460455

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10460455, Binge Eating Spectrum Treatment in Older Women (BESTOW): An Investigation and Intervention-Tailoring Project (5K76AG060003-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10460455. Licensed CC0.

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